About Us
We are the leading custom lighting partner for high-end residential clients and interior design studios.
We’ve brought exceptional artistry, craftsmanship, and
imagination to each collaboration - prioritizing
our client’s vision and experience since 1995.
Philosophy
Our Workshop
Custom. Made To Express.
De Blauwe Poedel’s design philosophy is simple: we see creation as an act of collaboration. Each piece we create for a client is a journey of mutual discovery, planning, and creativity so that each piece represents an alignment of vision. Our own collections seek to discover and enhance the natural beauty of light, never distorting or overpowering it. More than art, we believe glass fusing is a craft. Through dedication and practice, we’ve achieved a process that results in beautiful sculptures of light. Every piece is crafted carefully by hand. With our experience come dependable, yet refreshingly unique designs.
“Creativity is intelligence having fun”
Artisans
Walter Duportail in his habitat welding a custom chandelier frame.
Brigitte Duportail inspecting some of her signature glass work..
Walter & Brigitte’s son, Kevin in his Hilton Head Island based workshop.
The creative team.
Each piece is the product of Walter & Brigitte’s unique artistic vision, and is hand-made, welded, and fused in their Gent workshop.
They are a family of self-taught artisans who have mastered their crafts over decades
to bring their bold, awe-inspiring skill and creativity to the worldwide public.
“People are like stained - glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
”
Materials
All of our artwork is made from recycled glass and the highest quality steel in combination with interesting objects that come with their own history. Unparalleled in craftsmanship,Walter & Brigitte create individual masterpieces by casting molten glass into beautiful objects, which they then attach to hand-welded sculptures that are bent, twirled and shaped into stunning, surprising shapes.
Combining fused and cast glass with lustrous materials such as steel, bronze, and brass allows us to play with contrast in form to create lighting fixtures that are both bold and expressive.
“We paint with light”
Customization
“Each piece is specifically tailored for you and your unique space. ”
At De Blauwe Poedel, we take a client-centered approach by focusing on customization. Whether commissioned or from our collection, each piece is tailored specifically for you and your specific space.
Our clients come to us for custom projects seeking flexibility - both in design and technical ability - as well as ease. Through thoughtfulness and candid communication, we’re able to solve delicate problems and deliver unique solutions that meet our client’s dreams while relieving them of the work.
The now-iconic pieces in our online shop are all carefully described and customizable in order to make discovering and choosing lighting that accommodates your space quick and effortless.
The Family
The history of The Blue Poedel is one of entrepreneurial spirit, ingenuity, innovation but mostly of family. Growing up on his family farm, Walter worked with his brothers repairing machinery. He became proficient at welding and at 26, he designed and built a prototype steel folding ramp for delivery vans that could be operated single handedly. Together with his brothers, Multicar Systems ramp manufacturing was founded. Walter would often bring home sculptural objects and furniture that he made out of the left over steel in his warehouse. His wife Brigitte and their son Kevin immediately recognized his talent and pushed him to continue creating and install an exposition space at the family farm. Brigitte, whose talents lay in ceramic glass art, saw an opportunity to combine their artisanal trades. The creative couple started with candle holders, progressing to small table lamps and eventually matured to the impressive chandeliers that are internationally recognized today. In 2000, they opened their first commercial gallery in downtown Ghent where Kevin joined the team as gallery manager. Over the past decade, they have become a leader of custom lighting for residential and commercial clients in the Benelux.