Studio Nicky Vollebregt presents Pollia, sculptural textiles in which the synergy between manual craftsmanship and machine precision is explored. Seeking ‘design to cherish’, the project marries craft and innovation into new and speculative weaving structures.
Identical but always unique
Pollia explores the synergy of manual craftsmanship and machine precision and seeks for individual character in reproducible, machine-made woven textiles. The research draws inspiration from smocking, a technique that creates textured surfaces by gathering and stitching fabric pleats. By assigning weft threads within the design as drawstrings, the flat textile can be manipulated post-weaving using manual tension, resulting in a luminous, sculptural 3D structure. Retrieving its distinctive character from this imprecise manual intervention, no two identically re-woven pieces will ever be the same.
This project was developed in collaboration with Textiellab, the professional workshop of Textielmuseum, Tilburg.
Design to cherish
In our industrialized society, the connection between owner and object seems to be increasingly fading. After all, a damaged item can be easily replaced with a new, mass-produced version. As a result, cherishing and caring for our possessions has become less common than ever, leading to unnecessary waste and a depletion of resources. Studio Nicky Vollebregt proposes 'design to cherish', or emotionally sustainable design, as an important aspect within the topic of sustainability. That said, how to design a positive relationship between object and owner? How to design objects to cherish? Pollia is part of an ongoing research into this concept. Visit the project during Dutch Design Week 2024 to discover more, and follow Studio Nicky Vollebregt for future updates.
