UTENSILS

My book is published and available! Utensils is a  photo survey that I did in Malawi. I photographed the household of 1 family. All they have, all they need. It's a photo document about the daily life of the largest part of our planet's population. It's also a tribute to improvising, re-use-reduce-recycle and the beauty of handmade. Therefore it adds to the discussion about social design. Reconsidering materials, production and longevity. The book can ordered through mail@renyvanderkamp.nl The price is 17 euro, including postage (in The Netherlands). It's also available at Athenaeum Nieuwscentrum in Amsterdam, and during the Afrikadag, on the 2nd of November which will be in the stunning building of Tropeninstituut, Amsterdam.

NEW COLLECTION 2013

From tomorrow on my new collection 2013 HAND KNITTED VASES will be on sale at museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. A new exhibition will be openened: handmade. The value of crafts and craftmanship are central themes so I'm happy my collection was selected for the shop.

photo: Jeroen Dietz

Selvedge | the textiles of your life

And here's the review I wrote about this fabulous magazine. A very respectable age..... this is issue 50!
It's all about worldly textiles, rooted in tradition but with a bright vision for the future!
Hurray on it's way to issue 100..

Bowerbird Collections | Sibella Court

Here's the review I wrote for Athenaeum about the book 'Life of a Bowerbird' by Sibella Court.
The Bowerbird is a very stylish bird with a great sense for colours, texture and shapes...
But the book is about the phenomenon of collections, how to start, how to display and how simple a collection can be with great visual impact. My review starts with one of the most beautiful museum rooms I know: the Enlightenment Room in the British Museum in London. Stunning and moving..

Seikatsu Kogei - Living Crafts

Recently I bought the book "New Standard Crafts" by Kazumi Tsuji. This book has been put together because of an exhibition about Seikatsu Kogei, living crafts. Japanese are very good with crafts, and crafts are highly valued in Japanese society. So even before opening the book I knew it would interest me. I would say it's a silent book. Silent in its book design and silent in it s content.
'Things' we need for our daily lives, like buttons, haircombs, cups, spoons, chairs etc need to be made to last long and must be made to be utilised properly. Those things make our lives good, clear our minds and make us ready for our daily tasks. When you look at things in this way, you can see their beauty. You can also see immediately when they crappy, unpractical, unnecessary, of no value at all.
The images in the book are of such simple beauty, it struck me straight away.
They made me think of those items in my house that I value highly. My ceramic bowls, my bamboo comb, my wooden chairs, my hand knitted scarves, the handmade wooden table; really well designed and crafted.
The idea of Sekatsu Kogei suits my idea of design very much. For a sustainable angle at design you need to have things that have longevity and beauty. Besides that, the designers, makers and crafters are part of the product as well. In mass production their role is totally evaporated. Price, materials and the process of making have lost their value in mass production. That must change. Seikatsu Kogei is a way of revaluing things and makers. It's an ongoing process!

Material Change II

Halfway I am, reading this book by Eve Blossom. It's good; she says some very interesting things about (social) design. I can relate to her practice with Lulan Artisans through the craft projects in Malawi. Even with many differences, for the craft projects in Malawi are focusing on a local market, which is essential in this case. Still, we can learn from all of these projects.
Here's a few issues worth quoting:

Good design is creating enduring values. For good design sustainability and social good are new values. Essential is that local culture is partner in the ownership of a project.
Indeed these things are essential.  Enduring value has to do with beauty, longevity, material sources and social circumstances for production.
Social design and fairtrade don't work if you come in from abroad and push some 'design' into the community. That won't last, and has little to do with local strength.

For a strong development of social design we need disruptive entrepreneurship. 
Entrepreneurship that has a strong vision, that is grassroot, that doesn't wait for official canals to be ready. Indeed we, those with ideas, just have to do it. Make it happen. In Malawi we, the women and me, just started. I brought in the ideas, curated their skills, they were eager to just do it.

Material Change

I've just started reading Material Change, by Eve Blossom. A book in which she tells the story of how Lulan Artisans was established as a sustainable business in Vietnam. Design Thinking and the Social Entrepreneurship Movement - is the subtitle.
It's about design rooted in local culture, sustainability rooted in traditions.
The book has a wonderful poem by Fausto Contreras Lazo as a dedication:

"Our Forefathers"
In our hands they deposited
the tools that interweave our dreams,
what we see, what we feel, what we live.

In the weaving they taught us how
to weave with yarn the rainbow,
colors, with the fragrance of our country
from this, we cultivate and harvest.

They, too, did it this way, like this they flowered,
today we, their children, mark new trails,
together with our greatest teachers.

The photography by Mark Standen is beautiful, inspiring and clarifying.
Later more about the content.

Xmas by April&May

April&May is the wonderful webshop by my former students Jantine & Vivian. They sell the cute little hand knitted sheep from my collection. For Xmas they made these lovely photo's. I'm proud!

The Alpine Review

Read the review (in Dutch) I wrote on the website of Athenaeum Booksellers about the great new magazine The Alpine Review.... which observes the things that matter.

Our Garden Birds

Since I've been working with my good work-friend Peter Graatsma on a trend lecture about identity according to birds, birds are everywhere. Funny to see how your focus in work can also focus everything you see. The fun, the beauty, the dangers that threaten them, the colours, what's written about them... endless inspiration. Peter gave me this lovely book by artist Matt Sewell.


Let me quote what he wrote about one of my favourite birds; the Blackbird:
"A healthy addition to any garden and a resident in most. Just by listening to the Blackbird's call, you can tell what's going on out there: whatever is happening he likes to sing about it. Danger, happiness and general comings and goings are all reported on, and of course he welcomes the sun every morning. The Blackbird sings with compassion, clarity and heart..... "

Unless You Remove

Last Tuesday I went to the Graduation Show of the Design Academy during Dutch Design Week. Always good to go there, very inspiring. It's great having taught there at the then-called master Man and Humanity, and I might teach there again.
From all the projects I've seen many were good, some were brilliant, some were unnecessary and some keep popping up in my mind. Here's one of the stars.
Luis Gomez Barquin. He graduated from the master Social Design. His project Unless You Remove is poetical, a sign of the times as well as a proof of the past.
Ancient architecture was purely for protection. Against weather, animals or human enemies. It was done by removing soil or excavating rock. Ancient garments were also made by removing. A fleece from a sheep, a bark from a tree. These were remade. All this needed focus and dedication.
Today's dangers and lifestyle are more complex, so products as well as garments are way beyond the ancient pieces. But we lost the skill of removal. We constantly add. That's also metaphoric and reflects our lives which are reigned by consumerism, speed and distraction.
But we can learn, and remove. Focus again, reflect, commit.
That's why Luis designed items that will become ours by removing elements. Objects that ask for an action, he calls them.
I fell in love with the idea, for it's part of the questions we have to ask ourselves: what do we really need, what can go? I fell in love with the objects as well.

the blanket is too thick to wrap yourself comfortably unless....

the chair is uncomfortable to sit on unless..........

Campaign for Wool I

Raised by Prince Charles, spreading over the fashion and design world: the campaign for wool. Wool has a traditional place in our daily lives since centuries. Wool is beautiful, wool is warm, wool is natural and organic, wool is recyclable, wool is fabulous. Wool however is threatened. Farmers hardly get any money for the fleeces they sheared from their flock and often just destroy the wool. Some wool, like merino, is often taken from the sheep in a cruel, painful way. So it's time for a change!
We must emphasize the beauty and heritage of wool. And make a new future for wool. That's why I've joined the campaign for wool.
It's obvious that wool is my favourite material for my handmade designs. On sale at Options, April&May and Royal Tichelaar in The Netherlands, and Deshima in Tokyo.
From 6 till 11 November it's woolweek. Many events, constantly updated via facebook.

Little Sun

I've bought one when in Tate Modern last week. What a wonderful object, with an amazingly strong light for such a smally!
Great project, brilliant artist, Olafur Eliasson.
Have a look at little sun

Textile Design

At the moment I'm experimenting with combinations of different knitting techniques and different types of wool. Hand- and machine knitting, linen and wool, yarn sizes etc. Some things work, some don't. As usual, with experimenting! years ago I took knitting classes in Ireland, on the Aran islands. Besides wonderful days, I gained so much knowledge about how stitches actually work. Aran knitting is complicated, but also quite systematic. The teacher was strict; when it wasn't really perfect, she would undo all these stitches and you would have to start again. It was funny to see our behaviour in the class; we wanted to hide the mistakes from her, even while we were there as professionals to learn. And of course in the end we were glad she was so strict. I became much more confident and fluent in the process. So after this experience I'm able to design with knitting, rather than just be a good knitter. I'm sure there are many much better knitters than myself. But to understand the process, that's important for design.

Inspiration

Inspiration is an ongoing process. Everything can be useful as a source. For design, for a concept, for cooperation, for a process itself. Images, exhibitions, packages, books, articles, objects, samples. It's a great part of work to collect, organise and display. Here are some examples.

Social Design II

Local markets serve the community better than export I dare say. Except for products that are best made in those countries. From materials we don’t have here. Or techniques we don’t have. Trade is best if you trade each other’s quality products. That’s true fair trade.

Besides that these small businesses can improve more if they make useful products rather than decorative. Decoration has an end, neccessary products will always remain. Ther’s no ban on decoration, but then the 3 questions raised above should be answered first.

Do we really need this? Does it add to the quality of our daily lives and how? What is the footprint and can we reduce it?

I do believe it’s important to train people in developing countries in market opportunities, but why not locally? Is it the vanity of the designers here who like to get the credits for doing good? It’s easier to show you’re doing good when fancy products lie on shelves here.  And of course some products are wonderful and clever, such as the recycled car tyre baskets, or the bamboo textiles sold by Yumeko through Fair+Fair and others. Many, maybe most lorries and vans end up in developing countries so at the end of the line it’s good to make something useful out of the tyres. Bamboo doesn’t grow here and is more sustainable than cotton, so it’s wonderful to use it for textiles all over the world. Hurray for those products. And of course some products are symbolic such as bracelets to raise awareness. But garlands or small boxes? What about recycled glasses? Why don’t we support makers in developing countries to sell recycled glass locally? And recycle local glass here to make these products? Less transport, and a challenge for a much larger market for the makers there.

So every designer must look in the mirror, and then to the outer world. How social is the design you’re doing? I believe design can play a key role in development if the aim is to be useful and to optimise the opportunities for people involved.

With the projects I’m doing with women in Malawi we’ve also made the choice to develop the local market. They make hand-knitted products as well as baskets. I could take them with me and sell them here in a fancy shop. But now the women work locally, buy or harvest their material locally, trade themselves locally, and the money flows directly into their own pockets. The only role I play is to develop the concepts with them and accelarate their skills. A very satisfying role I must say. I think that’s more useful in the long term. For they become more independent.  Stronger. And a role model for others. Like this a small project can be the pebble in the water, the seed in fertile soil. Growth is what's developed by people themselves.

Social Design I

The position of design in the current society- in which the capacities of the planet, the need for fair development and the limits of growth are the main issues- is an interesting one. There is so much stuff on our planet, and most of that stuff is only used by 10% of the world’s population; we need to rethink design. I'm not saying I have the ultimate answer; I just want to keep the conversation going. Because I think social design is there to stay.

Design has a new role, a new destination and a new responsibility.  We no longer can make things for the sake of making them or for their beauty.

Aesthetics are important while looking at design, but equally important must be the following questions:

Do we really need this?

Does it add to the quality of our daily life and how?

What is the footprint and can we reduce that?

Social design adds to this by an extra unique selling point: the social environment in which the design is made. Whether it is made by people in special care, by people in developing countries or by people in fragile circumstances. The makers should benefit from the production.  By their empowering development, by  good labour circumstances and a fair price.

They make products people are supposed to want to buy.

In this case I want to focus on the products made in developing countries.

Most of the so-called fair-trade-products from developing countries are being sold in fairtrade shops. Designed by designers here, made by (mainly) women there. The base of the trade is a good one; doing good by giving the people in developing countries opportunities.

There are a few examples of how these designs relate to being sustainable. Let’s have a look at ‘return to sender’. It’s sold at the HEMA. The shelves are usually messy, the products are many. Some of them are cute, some look they won't last long. Let’s ask these questions while looking at them:

Do we need all these hangers from India and Thailand?  How many bracelets can be imported from South Africa? Or small boxes in animal shapes? Why can’t we buy ‘return to sender’ products which last long and are really useful?

Do they add to a fair business for the women? Presumably. Do they empower these women? Hopefully. Do we need these products? No. Do these products add to a sustainable approach? I doubt it.

I believe that fair trade with useless products is somewhat fake. Buying silly stuff to feel good; is that fair trade? No, but it happens a lot. And silly stuff is very unsustainable.

So how can we improve the idea of fair design being fair and sustainable? I think the answer lies in the local market. For the local market is 90% of the world’s population. A much larger market than the 10% to which we belong...........

Textile Museum

Today I had a great day with three friends/colleagues at the Textile Museum. We went to see the SOLO exhibition of Christien Meindertsma. She's an amazing designer. Wool, flax, prairie plants, rope, pigs; she can make something wonderful out of almost everything. An in-depth researcher, a most creative thinker and fantastic maker. No photography allowed, but the rest of the museum is inspiring as well.....

Deshima

On the 12th of May a new shop will be opened in Tokyo: Deshima. They focus on Dutch design, and it's done in cooperation with the Dutch Ambassey in Japan. The name comes from a historic memory.
Deshima was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. Originally built to house Portugese traders, it was used by the Chinese and Dutch as a trading post from 1641 until 1853. It later was integrated into the city and has been designated a Japanese national historic site.
So now it's a small, lovely shop full of wonderful design products. The shop design is done by the Tokyo- based design company East Inc, they specialise in museum shops. I love their style. The lambs of my collection will be on sale there, which is an honour for me! 

Fair Trade

Good to read that fair trade is increasing. Half of the Dutch population does buy fair trade products occasionally and sales have risen with 14% in fair food. Also design is an upcoming segment in fair trade. Products made with a small footprint; recycled, organic or re-used and good circumstances for workers. The shop I blogged before, Fair+Fair is doing well. A very contemporary look and feel in the shop, appealing products that matter in a wide variety. Also Waar is a good example; they sell lifestyle - and household items as well as food. You have to innovate, also in this market segment; it's getting bigger but if shops don't modernise their identity and their collection they miss the development.
The mission should be that in the years to come fair trade will become the norm, and all other production methods will reduce almost to zero due to higher prices. Prices of those products should become much higher because of higher taxes ( for non-worker-friendly production, foot print, water print etc).
Sustainability and fair trade should become more and more connected. In the long term that's better for us as well as the planet and therefore is cheaper.
As many world-wide conferences about the future of our planet are due to start this spring; it's also becoming more and more clear that the real development has to come from the bottom: consumers. We have the power in our wallets. Even if they're not always filled to the brim, we still can make choices.