Hella Jongerius exhibits in New York

"I'm searching for the hand of the maker." Dutch designer Hella Jongerius says. "Of course craftsmen will always make something very perfect but you can't make it exactly the same as the one before that's also the beauty of it."

Born near Utrecht in 1963, Jongerius graduated from the renowned Design Academy at Eindhoven in the early 1990s, working briefly for Droog Design before launching her solo career. Today she is one of the most important designers of her generation. In the 90s she introduced imperfections and individuality into the industrial manufacturing process. She believes that the quality of craftsmanship is reflected in the imperfections or 'misfits' that are the signature of the maker and her work combines new technological achievements with the uniqueness that handmade historic objects possess: "I'm trying to make products that can be loved and that people want to own their whole lives to then pass them on to the family. Innovation is the highest priority," she says.

Now there is a chance to see 300 Coloured Vases (Series 3) in America for the first time as they are exhibited at Moss Gallery in New York until January, 15, 2012.

Each of Hella Jongerius' 300 vases is different in colour and texture

Last year, Phaidon visited the oldest factory in the Netherlands, The Royal Tichelaar Makkum, to see 300 Coloured Vases (Series 3) go into production. Follow the link to watch the video to see the unique touches Jongerius wanted the vases to feature, such as her fingerprint and the one of a kind colour combinations she created combinging historical mineral recipes and modern, chemical glazes.

"The story is about experimenting, it is an experiment which became a project, which became a product," Jan Tichelaar, director of Royal Tichelaar Makkum told Phaidon. These 300 unique vases were created as special collectors artwork to accompany the handmade, signed and numbered editions of the book Hella Jongerius, Misfit.

"You couldn't have thought this over, it just happens," Tichelaar adds. "This is not designing, it's creating, it's exploring, it's experimenting, so sometimes it's very nice and sometimes it's a bit strange, but it's always beautiful. It always has a value, which you would like to cherish."

Follow the link to watch the video and find out why Hella Jongerius left her "perfect' studio in the Netherlands for Berlin, Germany.