Spectaculoos speculoos

In a busy shopping street, near Brussels' Grand Place, Maison Dandoy is reopening its thoroughly renovated store. "Creating a premium experience is the focus here, not selling as many cookies and speculoos as possible," it sounds. Kreon's lighting also fits perfectly within this concept.

Brussels' Grand Place has a strong attraction for tourists from all over the world, headed by the beautiful Gothic City Hall from the 15th century. This means the surrounding streets are often bustling with activity. Maison Dandoy, well-known Belgian manufacturer of cookies and speculoos, has a beautiful storefront in one of those streets. During the corona pandemic and lockdown, Maison Dandoy committed to a thorough renovation of it. The result is a visually appealing and inviting store and brasserie, a design by interior designer Erwin De Muer. Kreon, also Belgian, took on the lighting.

Experiencing baking magic

Creating a true cookie and speculoos experience is what Maison Dandoy is going for with its store on Karel Buls Street. The corner building, originally three small old houses fused into one before, was thoroughly renovated and given a completely new interior. Experience is key, so the studio on the ground floor was made visible to the general public. Everyone can admire the baking magic here. Since this atelier is lit so that the work can run smoothly, it immediately acts as a beacon of light in the deliberately slightly darker store area. There, of course, all attention goes to the counter. Also striking: the fully customized pendant version of the Nuit profile. It completely follows the dimensions (six meters long) and design (145° angle) of the counter.

Up and coming Belgian

On the first and second floors of the Maison Dandoy building is the tearoom area where customers can quietly enjoy the delicacies. They reach this tearoom via a monumental staircase that is clearly visible to everyone inside and outside. "Where you would rather expect a counter or a seating area, interior designer De Muer places the staircase, made of Belgian natural stone," Kreon tells us. "This renovation has become a thoroughly Belgian project. In the middle of the lockdown, the 'Buy local' idea surfaced. We are giving our own interpretation of that idea here and hope that some nice collaborations will come out of that."

Products

The Nuit profile above the counter completely follows its dimensions and design and is therefore completely customized. In addition to the pendant version, a surface-mounted profile and a trimless recessed model also exist in this family. Kreon provides one or more 7W LED modules, their number and position freely selectable, which then provide the necessary light. The Holon 40 surface-mounted spotlight also plays an important role in Kreon's lighting plan. In the shop windows, mounted on a 48V track, several Holon 40 spotlights are used to draw attention to certain products. In the store itself, a few Holon 40 surface-mounted spotlights with a wide flood beam, always placed in pairs, provide general lighting. Kreon: "The studio space actually received a lighting plan in itself, the function of the space is completely different. Erubo surface-mounted spotlights here provide adequate lighting for the workstations."