“van Cronenburg strives to bring back Hardware
of genuine beauty that is - such as life -
perfectly imperfect.”
Headquartered in the medieval city of Ghent, the foundry – one of the oldest in Europe- is closely related to its rich History: creative, innovative, daring and open to the World.
The foundry houses the models used in the many Hôtels, as the city palaces of the aristocracy were called, that were built in the 18th Century and were the witness of Ghent’s prosperous textile industry.
"Creative, innovative, daring
and open to the World."
When Peter van Cronenburg started out as a cabinet maker in 1983, the foundry and its age old-traditions had become more of a sleeping beauty, as cheaper mass produced items had ended up dominating the market and the interest for handcrafted items was at its lowest.
As a cabinet maker, Peter felt frustrated not to find the right hardware to finish his realizations. The supply was to him inexpressive, derivative and pale: machine turned or injected production, artificial patinas and textures. This would bring him to create an own collection of hardware, that was executed by the old foundry in Ghent and this collaboration developed his fascination and love for hardware.
As a teenager, Régine Yvergneaux was fascinated by ancient cultures -Egypt in particular- and spent countless hours studying and translating hieroglyphs.
Aged 16, she met famous Egyptologist Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt who left a deep impression on her… and a note in her workbooks to encourage her to pursue her study.
Régine however followed a different path and graduated in Economics, but the love of art and history never left her
In 2009, Peter van Cronenburg and Régine Yvergneaux, management consultant reconverted into antiques dealer, decided to take over the foundry and fuel it with the creative energy of their shared passion for art, architecture, books, craftsmanship and life challenges.
The old foundry was reborn.