Object of the day: Dutch tiles with tales

The best thing I saw at the London Design Festival last week measured 10 centimetres square and was based on a 16th century Dutch design classic. 

Yes, yes, there was so much to love at LDF 2014. The sprawling event, now in its 11th year, is the non-trade way through the back doors of the design world and, with six big fairs in different venues, various landmark displays of creativity, and about a zillion satellite range or product or designer launches in galleries, shops and street corners across the city, visiting can provoke a little design overload.

So these unusual Amsterdam-made StoryTiles by visual artist, Marga Van Oers – which I saw at Design Junction – aren't the only thing I loved, but they are probably the most memorable.

Marga explains the concept (better than I can at midnight on a Sunday) on her website (details below): "StoryTiles are miniature stories on Dutch Whites, the old-fashioned Dutch tiles that have been made since the 16th century. [Marga] gives old tiles a new life with her unique, detailed and humorous collages. Every StoryTile tells its own story."

A simple idea, beautifully executed. The tiles cost 25 Euros (£20ish) each for a 10cm x 10cm size, and go up to 75 Euros (£59ish) for 20cm x 20cm. Not cheap for tiles, but eminently affordable for wonderful, tiny art. Marga also creates larger versions printed onto wood, which you can see on her site. I think Little Red Riding Hood (below) might be my favourite.

They provide a similar joy to the similarly small but perfectly formed work of Israeli magazine illustrator and artist, Tali Yalonetzki, which I mentioned in Friday's post about some of my favourite makers featured on this blog of late. If you missed it, and like these, check it out.

Or go straight to Marga's site for more on the tiles: www.storytiles.nl