‘Making innovative work with the techniques of the past’

‘Making innovative work with the techniques of the past’
17 August 2021 Bertine Aalderen, van

Team bamboo. Photo: Janna Bathoorn.

In July, we organised two sessions with our partner Werkplein Ability for the Local Making Place project. This serves to exchange experience and knowledge with regard to the materials and techniques we use within the project and to make a start with the Local Making Place project. You can read the report of the first session here.

Team bamboo
The second session is with the team exploring the possibilities of local bamboo. The team consists of furniture maker and designer Paul Bloemers, designer Simone Larabi, bamboo grower Remmo Georgius, braid designer Esmé Hofman and Rudi Hofman of Werkplein Ability (see photo from left to right).

Bamboo from Kloosterburen. Photo: Janna Bathoorn.

Splitting
Furniture maker Paul Bloemers has been designing and making bamboo interior products for some time now and is a true expert of the material. He is keen to use local bamboo in his designs. Normally he works with sheet material, but you can also split bamboo and then braid it. Splitting is possible at Ability. Rudi Hofman is happy to contribute to this new application of the local material.

Braid
We have invited Esmé Hofman to share her expertise with braiding. She is a braid designer and makes the most beautiful products. She has worked with bamboo before, but says that the bamboo she purchases is not of a high quality and probably comes from far away. This is why she is definitely interested in the local material. Esme uses an old craft such as braiding to come up with new designs: ‘I like looking beyond the boundaries of the old craft in order to make new and innovative work with the techniques of the past.’

Alternative to plastic
Many product ideas were discussed during the session, but an alternative to a plastic product appeals most to the imagination. This is what the team will continue to do for the foreseeable future.