ABOUT Jules Wabbes

Jules Wabbes is one of the leading Belgian furniture designers and interior architects of the postwar period. He first opened an antiques and decoration shop in Brussels before starting to create his own furniture and objects. 
In cooperation with architect André Jacqmain (until 1960), he was able to perfect his office furniture and accessories into large-scaled interior design and architecture commissions - for banks and office spaces such as the Francolin Building, the Glaverbel quarters or La Générale de Banque and its strongroom. He was known for his office desks, tables and cabinets crafted from precious and exotic woods on elegant frames of stainless steel.  His attention to every detail led him to create a collection of metal accessories to fit into these interiors.
He co-founded a first successful company, Mobilier Universel, in 1957 that also produced American designers, as Wabbes traveled extensively to the US in that period. He eventually furnished the US embassies of London, Dakar, and Rabat. A few years later, he was ousted from Mobilier Universel unwilling to compromise quality for profit. 
He then founded GEDE in 1969 in order to manufacture and retail exclusively his metal accessories according to his own quality principles. 
Wabbes was awarded several prizes, notably in 1957 and 1960 at the Milan Triennale.