zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

La Marzocco has described its ubiquitous Linea Classic as โ€œa tried and true machineโ€ that is โ€œcarefully designed to blend into any setting.โ€ Sometimes that kind of staid stainless steel finish is what a busy coffee shop calls for. But in the same way that a cashmere crewneck sweater does not do it for everyone, a classic-style machine does not befit all bars, or at least not forever. Customization is all the rage these days, and here in the Netherlands some compelling work is being done by a brand calledย Zink.

Since early 2014, the Dutch design companyย has been elevating the unequivocally unlowly La Marzocco into something even more exclusive. Their current focus is on the looks of the Linea Classic, in its two-, three-, and four-group versions, though Zink has a long list of customization ideas for both inside and outside the machine, as well as for other models.

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

The two-man startup is powered by Tijs Wilbrink and Paul Schilperoord. The friends first met as undergrads in mechanical engineering and have, in the 20 years since, enjoyed comparing notes on โ€œespresso design and culture.โ€ Wilbrink, a business development specialist with past job experience at big-league corporations, such as IBM and ABN AMRO, oversees Zinkโ€™s marketing. Schilperoord is the creative director whoโ€”talk about opportunities for cross-fertilizationโ€”also works as a freelance designer for La Marzocco. If his name sounds familiar it may be because Schilperoord is credited for designing La Curva, the prototype lever espresso machine revealed at Out of the Box 2015.

With four series presently on the market and costs not too steepโ€”prices range from 1,500 to 3,500 eurosโ€”Zink customizations have begun appearing around the world.

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

Most dramatic is the X1 series. To convert the Linea’sย silhouette from upright parallelogram to sloping low-rider, Zink chops away parts of the original frame, most noticeably the upper back panel and cup tray. A rectangular window reveals a color powder-coated steam boiler. For the first two X1s ever made, red was applied, not only matching the La Marzocco logo that is steel-cut and fixed to the facade, but emulating the peekaboo engine of the Ferrari F430 that was Schilperoordโ€™s inspiration for the design.

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The first X1 debuted at a Mahlkรถnig booth during the 2015 Internorga trade show in Hamburg, Germany. The second, meanwhile, is seeing lots of action in the busy Dutch train station of Utrecht Centraal at โ€™t Koffiehuis en Bar. Its proprietors, HMS Host, have ordered a purple variation for their coffee bar at Cafรฉ Chocolat in Lounge 1 of Amsterdamโ€™s Schiphol airport.

Not ready to subject your Classic to metal grinders? Or, perhaps your aesthetic is less aerodynamically inclined? There are otherโ€”reversibleโ€”options.

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

Zink calls its three Z series โ€œretrofit kits.โ€ These donโ€™t require a relinquishing of the machine because all the customized bodywork is shipped in a single box for self-assembly with the aid of basic tools.

โ€œItโ€™s not very complicated,โ€ Schilperoord assures. โ€œItโ€™s basically loosening screws.โ€

The Z1 wraps two rows of colored steel around the rear and side panels, with pieces of honeycomb grille inlaidย between. That kit has reportedly already found its way far from Zinkโ€™s workshop in The Hague, to clients in Seattle, Malaysia, and Australiaโ€”but thereโ€™s one in Amsterdam, too.

Essentially providing a customized faรงade, the Z2 replaces the machineโ€™s original shell with colored panels and an upper glass pane bearing La Marzoccoโ€™s heraldic lion, plus space for a personalized logo. By springย 2016, the Z2 should be available via La Marzoccoโ€™s online store.

For a steampunkier look, there is the Z3. Its three glass panels expose all the mechanismโ€™s inner workings, and neo-Victorian fantasies can be enhanced by sending Zink the original stainless steel boiler for a color powder-coating. Want an in-person Z3 experience par excellence? When next in Utrecht (after admiring the X1 at the rail station), go ogle the canary-yellow boiler and matching steel panel at the branch of The Village that recently opened in a former prison.

Though still just in their 3D rendering stage, customization designs are underway for La Marzoccoโ€™s GS3 and Strada as well.

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

โ€œWhat I am interested in [is] going back to the 1950s espresso machine with these wild curves and exotic shapes,โ€ says Schilperoord, discussing a computerized depiction of the Strada customization, tentatively named the Z4. โ€œI do like the fact that thereโ€™s more body or volume to the machine, because some of the machines from the โ€™60s on, theyโ€™re really straight; also, the sides are really straight. So here, Iโ€™m trying to put more shape into the sides, so these sides are a bit bigger actually, and they angle up and they angle downwards.โ€

zink design the netherlands dutch holland utrecht la marzocco custom espresso machine sprudge

An appreciation for expressive vintage design may not be so unusual for a mechanical engineer who went on to get a Masterโ€™s degree at the Florence Design Academy and cherishes childhood memories of his fatherโ€™s classic lever La Pavoni. The fact that Schilperoord is a Dutchman who moonlights with La Marzocco and is now building a Dutch business on customizing their equipment is, however, highly coincidental with the historical circumstances of a major industry player. That would be an individual whose high-end espresso machines, handcrafted in the Netherlands for decades, are synonymous with speed and style:ย Kees van der Westen, recently profiled elsewhere in these pages.ย If Zink persists, Schilperoord and Wilbrink may soon be keeping their compatriot in stylishย company.

Visit Zink’sย official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read moreย Karina Hof on Sprudge.ย 

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