Cooper Hewitt says...
Born in 1970, Frank Tjepkema grew up in Geneva, Brussels and New York City. In 1989, he settled in the Netherlands to study industrial design, attending the Delft University of Technology for two years, after which he transferred to the Design Academy Eindhoven. In 1996, Tjepkema graduated cum laude and subsequently started a MA at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam, getting his degree in 1998. Tjepkema works in the fields of interior design, architecture, product design, visual design and jewelery.
After initially working for Philips Design, he set up his own design studio called Tjep, together with Janneke Hooymans in 2001. He has designed products, furniture and accessories for corporate clients including Ikea, British Airways, Philips and Heineken. He also created interiors for restaurants and Schiphol Airport. He has taught and lectured at various institutes including Design Academy Eindhoven, the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, and The Acadia Summer Arts Program in Maine. He was Head of Department at the Amsterdam Rietveld Academy from 2001 to 2004. His work is represented in a number of public collections.
