About Frank Tjepkema & Tjep.
25 Years of Tjep. — Infinite Scroll
2026 marks 25 years of Tjep., celebrated with Infinite Scroll: a series of kinetic sculptures in which a free-standing robot autonomously operates a smartphone — performing the swipe we make thousands of times a day, slowly and deliberately, once a minute.
Premiering this September at Big Art, Codrico Factory, Rotterdam (11–13 September) and during GLUE Amsterdam at Waag Futurelab (17–19 September 2026).
A Global Creative Journey
Frank Tjepkema (born 1970) is a Dutch designer based in Amsterdam, working across interiors, architecture, product design and jewellery. He is owner and creative director of design studio Tjep., and creative director of contemporary jewellery brand OYUKIO. His approach brings together a bold artistic vision and a sharp commercial instinct — work that wins over major brands and lands with a wider public.
Raised between Geneva, Brussels and New York, Tjepkema settled in the Netherlands, graduating cum laude from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 1996 and earning an MA from the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam in 1998. His graduation project on artificial nature was selected for the Droog Design collection, opening a series of collaborations with Droog — including Do Break (2000) — the British Airways Executive Lounge at Heathrow (2004), and the Chair of Textures, shown at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2006 with Friedman Benda.
Since then, Tjep. has delivered work for clients including Schiphol, Preciosa, Wolf-Gordon and Heineken.
Founding Tjep.
In 2001, Tjepkema founded Tjep., his Amsterdam design studio. Alongside commissions for major brands — Schiphol’s lounge designs and the award-winning House of Tulips retail concept, Heineken, Hema, Preciosa and Wolf-Gordon — he makes gallery and exhibition pieces such as the Recession Chair, Bling Bling and Oogst: provocative works that challenge conventions and reflect the spirit of the times. His work is shown by galleries including Tajan (Paris) and Droog (Amsterdam), and held by institutions from the Centre Pompidou in Paris to the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.
A Philosophy of Curiosity
“My work catches the present in the act — often with a touch of irony, always driven by curiosity. Through the gallery pieces and the Tjep. collection, I follow a question wherever it leads; through Tjep. studio, I bring that same soul to work made with, and for, clients. Different rooms, one refusal: never boring.”
— Frank Tjepkema
Portrait from Tjep. ❤️ AI Campaign, 2026
Shaping Design Education
Tjepkema teaches and lectures worldwide — from the Design Academy Eindhoven and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam (where he served as Head of Department from 2001–2004) to Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavik and the Acadia Summer Arts Program in Maine. He has spoken in Japan, Malaysia, Spain and Hungary, and at conferences including Design Indaba (twice), What Design Can Do and the Singapore Design Challenge 2050.
Influencing Design Governance
Tjepkema has served on the board of the Premsela Foundation, on the examination commission of the Dutch Foundation for Art and Design, and as a juror for the Dutch Design Awards and the Françoise van den Bosch Award.
“ We collaborated with Frank on the light artwork ‘De Zwerm’, from design to realisation. The inspiring approach and flexible attitude throughout the process resulted in a light artwork that generated incredible enthusiasm.
The collaboration exceeded our expectations for a permanent landmark at this unique location. ”
Toine Schoester
Project Manager Sector Spatial Projects Eindhoven1996 Nominated Wolkenkrabber Award
2001 Nominated Rotterdam Design Award
2003 Nominated Rotterdam Design Award
2003 Honorable mention Tiara for Maxima
2003 Winner Stocke Iens Award with Praq
2004 Winner Dutch Design Awards, category interior design with Airco Tree
2004 Winner Dutch Design Awards, category fashion design with Bling Bling
2006 Praq is selected by the book Cool Brands
2006 Fabbrica nominated for the dutch design Awards
2006 Immaterial trophy selected for the Dutch Design Awards
2007 Fabbrica nominated for the Hospitality Awards
2007 Waater nominated for the bottledwaterworld awards
2007 ROC Apeldoorn honorable mention Dutch Design Awards
2007 Tjep. nominated for the Harrie Tillie Award
2008 ROC Apeldoorn shortlisted for the Lensvelt de Architect interieurprijs
2008 Praq nominated for the Dutch Design Awards category design for all
2008 Praq nominated for the Hospitality Awards
2010 Clockwork Love nominated for The Dutch Design Awards, fashion
2011 Frontier Awards shortlist for House of Tulips
2011 International Design Awards, honorable mention for Schiphol lounge 3
2014 Winner Editors Choice Award Prague Designblok
2015 Winner of The International Yacht & Aviation Awards. House of tulips in the category airport retail concept.
2018 Nominated for The International Yacht & Aviation Awards. Eau best concept yacht larger than 60 meters.
2020 Winner of the National Staal Award for Zwerm, Eindhoven.
2021 Nominated Dirk Roosenburg Award for Zwerm, Eindhoven.
2023 Muse Creative Awards, Gold for Museumkwartier Den Haag augmented reality experience
Awards
Collections
Tjep.’s work is held in fifteen museum collections worldwide. Private collectors range from Philippe Starck and Lidewij Edelkoort to Tony Hawk. Frank has twice won the Dutch Design Award.
Museum permanent collections
Notable Private Collections
Thierry Barbier-Mueller’s collection of chairs
Lidewij Edelkoort Design Collection
Philippe Starck Private Collection
Tony Hawk Private Collection
Hans Lensvelt Private Collection
“ Frank Tjepkema knows how to combine imagination with clear concepts. This is effective. In addition to a fitting idea, excellent materialization, and execution, the work has a clear aesthetic. This adds extra meaning to the word sustainability: beauty lasts longer. ”
Jasper van der Graaf
Director Centre for Contemporary Culture Apeldoorn ACEC
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Vinomadefied (vĭn-ō-măd′ə-fīd) adj.
A state of being richly infused with creative inspiration and fulfillment, as if soaked in the finest wine of the soul, achieved only through delivering exceptional, passionate work that transcends mere expectation. Etymology: From Latin vīnum (wine) + madefīerī (to be soaked), with a modern extension reflecting artistic and emotional saturation; first adapted in this context by Tjep. design philosophy, 2014. Usage: "After pouring her heart into the project, she felt truly vinomadefied, her soul alight with the joy of creation." Synonyms: Inspired, enraptured, fulfilled. Related Forms: Vinomadefication (n.), the process or act of becoming vinomadefied.
The 10 Commandments by Tjep. for Tjep.
Thou shalt not makest boring designs.
Thou shalt let anything and everything relevant trigger thy thoughts.
Thou shalt embrace the possibilities offered by the digital revolution. Thou shalt embrace the possibilities offered by any revolution including the AI revolution.
By all means thy focus shalt remain craftsmanship and impeccable quality in every project and product.
All the while thou shalt remember not to conform to systems, dogmas or preconceptions, not even thy own ones.
Thou shalt not bow to the fickle whims of what wandering souls deem the market.
Thou shalt shun fleeting trends, instead serving thy brothers and sisters by forging a unique path, thy own trend to lead and inspire.
Let not the shadow of what is called crisis dim thy resolve—rise above with steadfast purpose.
O mortal, with every endeavor, thou shalt exceed expectations, delivering more than is asked, for only then shalt thy soul be vinomadefied*.
Do not forget: thou shalt not makest boring designs.
Selected Press
Newspapers
de Volkskrant
Het Parool
Trouw
AD
Eindhovens Dagblad
Het Financieele Dagblad
The New York Times
Wired
Fast Company
NPR
The Oregonian
Prague Post
Aktualne (cz)
La Vanguardia
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The San Diego Union-Tribune
PEGN
Catalogues and survey books that include Tjep. projects.
2002 Display, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
2002 21 diademen voor Maxima, Museum het Kruithuis
2002 Sense of Wonder, chi ha paura, Museum het Kruithuis
2004 Simply Droog, Droog
2004 False Flat: Why Dutch Design Is So Good, Phaidon
2004 1000 Rings, Lark Books
2005 Arco 12, 010 Publishers
2006 One Hundred and One Things to Do, BIS / KesselsKramer
2007 New Restaurant Design, Laurence King
2008 Designers on Jewellery, Arnoldsche
2008 Fragiles, Gestalten
2010 Commercial Space, Artpower
2010 Dutch Design Yearbook, 010 Publishers
2010 Interior Design 3, Dalian
2011 Atlas of World Interior Design, Braun
2013 Detail in Contemporary Bar and Restaurant Design, Laurence King
2013 Designing Interior Architecture, Birkhauser
2014 De sieraden van Annie Brouwer-Korf, Galerie Marzee
2017 Jewelry of Ideas, Cooper Hewitt / Arnoldsche
2019 Striking Gold, Fuller Craft Museum
Design press online and physical
Archello
Frame
Dezeen
Domus
Designboom
Wallpaper*
ArchDaily
ICON
Design Week
Design Indaba
Dwell
Design Milk
Eigenhuis & Interieur
Inhabitat
Core77
Elle Decor
Haute Living
Yatzer
urdesignmag
Colossal
What Design Can Do
Retail Design Blog
Highlike
Design Digger
Architectenweb
Nieuw Amsterdams Peil
HorecaTrends
Hedendaagse sieraden
BNO
Stedendriehoek
Apeldoorn Direct
Designspotter
Trend Hunter
My Modern Met
Arch2O
Architizer
Archilovers
PSFK
Ego Design