Faruk Malhan
Blessed are all the tireless, wise, courageous, and gifted voyagers of this journey of creation, from the very first day to this very moment.
Born in Izmir in 1947, Faruk Malhan completed his primary and secondary education at Izmir Ataturk High School and is a graduate of the Middle East Technical University, School of Architecture, in Ankara. He also has a master’s degree from the Department of Demography of Hacettepe University, again in Ankara.
Malhan studied basic design with Professor Fritz Janneba, an original representative of the Bauhaus School. He was a student of Mübeccel Kıray, one of the doyennes of Modern Sociology in Turkey. He was also a close follower of Prof. İlhan Tekeli’s courses and articles, as well as a follower of Professor Nusret Hızır’s philosophy courses. The courses he took from Professor Oya Köymen on economics, economic history, sociology and political science altogether helped him to shape his inter-disciplinary approach to life. This broad educational base was instrumental in the acquisition of in-depth views on the design culture of societies, and the impact of culture and forms of production on design.
With his education and practical experience in the field, he was one of the pioneers in Turkey to present works and ideas in the field of design, bringing together its cultural, social, aesthetic and practical aspects. Malhan’s awareness of design and craftsmanship gave him the chance to introduce design to the architectural community in Turkey.
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Following his dream of ‘an industry serving design’, Malhan established his company, ‘Koleksiyon’, in Ankara, in 1971, and began realizing his own designs. In 1980’s, Koleksiyon became a model for urban lifestyle with its first showroom in Istanbul. In 1988, the company initiated its new production facility in Tekirdag. The investments provided employment for 400 people, and made a big contribution to Turkey's economy in terms of quality and design.
With Malhan’s leadership, Koleksiyon introduced design as a main virtue of life, in the past 50 years of Turkey. Today, in the 21st century, Koleksiyon is a leading brand in Turkey, present in many fields such as home, tableware, office, education, tourism, finance and healthcare, with a strong design emphasis. Offering miscellaneous products, all produced with an enthusiasm for design and quality, Malhan’s passion for the arts, crafts and design have rendered Koleksiyon as the forerunner of design and quality in Turkey. Today, as Koleksiyon’s chief designer, he is also the artistic director of the group.
Most recently, Malhan presented many designs in reference to cultural geography; he has reinterpreted the Turkish tea glasses and coffee cups, reviving them as contemporary design objects. His design works are now more directed towards glass, ceramic, porcelain, textile, weaving, jewelry, and furniture affixes industries, as well as architectural projects, such as the Bakraz Houses, in Bodrum.
In June 2013, Faruk Malhan initiated the establishment of “Design Foundation İstanbul”, passionately espousing his mission of founding design, as a socio-cultural leverage for the welfare of the economies.
He has been granted many national and international awards, one of them being the Environment Award given by the Turkish Ministry of Environment. Malhan is a member of Design Management Institute, and a member of the Board of Consultants for the Siena 2019 European Capital of Culture Project.
He is regarded as “the first designer/thinker of Turkey”, a very apt characterization, for since 1972, Malhan has been tracing with passion the multidimensional nature of design, altogether with its intellectual, sociological, aesthetic and practical aspects.
Each individual's life is a poem, and the poet of that life is none other than the individual."
Faruk Malhan
Faruk Malhan Inspiration