"I create poetic, tactile design for bold, visionary brands. From immersive installations to iconic interiors. I build stories you can feel".

Barbara Vos

Background

– Art Academy – Interior Architecture

combined with Fashion,

KABK, The Hague, The Netherlands.

– Postgraduate Industrial Design,

KABK, The Hague, The Netherlands.

Studio Barbara Vos is run by designer Barbara Vos, born in 1980 in Emmen, The Netherlands.

Her studio and workspace are located in the upcoming industrial district De Binckhorst, The Hague.

KABK, The Hague, NL

De Besturing, The Hague, NL

"My inpirations are unlimited".

"When I was born, I opened my eyes so wide,

they said it couldn’t be wider.

Ready to see, ready to take in the world".

Passion

Immersive spatial and product design for bold, visionary brands.

Signature

Bold. Tactile. Poetic. Story-driven.

Mindset

Curious. Fast-thinking. Intuitive. Hands-on.

Want to know where

it all began?

Barbara Vos at age of 0,5 years old

Barbara Vos at age of 1 year old

"My grandfather build his own kites at the sewing machine"

A family of makers

Creativity runs deep in my family – passed down through generations of makers. My great-grandfather carved wooden clogs by hand. My grandfather built his own kites, worked metal on a lathe, taught automotive engineering, and even developed his own photographs in a darkroom. My father and his father drew houses at the

drafting table and built them

from the ground up.

A curious child with tools and thread

And I? I started early – at six years old – cutting tiny shapes out of wood on my grandfather’s electric jigsaw (I never cut my fingers, luckily). I painted them, embroidered small compositions, and built stories from thread and colour.

Granddad at the car workshop, 1952.

Granddad with his home made kite

"When I was 6 years old I was cutting wooden puzzles at my granddad's electric jigsaw"

A home full of creativity

My mother, a primary school teacher, was especially creative in her work with young children – playful, resourceful and imaginative. That energy shaped me too.

At school, I once received a 9 (out of 10) for a drawing assignment: “How does a cat experience the world?”

My drawing was voted best in class. I was told I had an extraordinary sense of empathy and perspective. That stayed with me.

"As a teenager, I spent hours on the sewingmachine with my grandmother"

Sewing machine of Barbara Vos

Sewingmachine

‍

As a teenager, I spent hours sewing with my grandmother – using patterns and learning the craft. But when I sewed on my own, I always worked without a pattern, guided purely by intuition.

Later, I would photograph the dresses with my grandfather. He taught me how to develop the prints myself in his darkroom –

he even won several awards for his photography.

"Goldfish swam through the flowers, surrounded by music and bubbles".

Design education and beyond

‍

Later, I studied interior architecture, took fashion classes, explored photography, and eventually completed a postgraduate degree in industrial design. I graduated cum laude with a 9.5 (out of 10) with a product 'tex-tiles'. Translucent wall or floor tiles with a textile relief in the surface.

From florals to form

After secondary school, my parents thought I was too young to move out and study design living far away.

So I enrolled in florist school – and it turned out to be a surprisingly good fit.

‍

I learned about composition, colour theory, art history and aesthetics.
Sometimes I created art pieces out of scrap metal, added a single

white rose, and said: “This is my flower arrangement.”

"Tex-tiles": handcrafted translucent porcelain tiles with embedded textile textures.

Flower Piece without flowers - only metal scrap

"Tex-tiles": handcrafted tests of translucent porcelain tiles with embedded textile textures.

"Give me a spark, and I’ll build a world around it".

The designer I’ve become

Today, I combine all those experiences – from flowers to forms, thread to texture, space to story – into tactile, poetic design for bold, visionary brands.
I work hands-on, intuitively, and always with wonder.

My mind as a cabinet of curiosities

‍

My mind feels like a cabinet of curiosities – full of odd links, fast ideas, and unexpected solutions.

I see connections others might overlook.

I think quickly, visually, and always in possibilities.

Give me a spark, and I’ll build a world around it.

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