The Sample Studio: a source of knowledge and inspiration
9 January 2024
Our Sample Studio is being upgraded with thirty new samples. These are not only nice to look at, but also very useful. In fact, makers study them extensively for their own projects. “These samples are really important, especially in the initial phase,” says knitting artist Yu-Mei Huang. She drew inspiration from several samples for her 3D-knitted Soft Sculptures last year.
Maybe you have been there; the Sample Studio at the back of our Textile Lab. In this space, you can view hundreds of samples from projects created in the TextielLab. With those, we not only want to show what we have made and what we can do, but we also use them to inspire new makers and thus provide them with tools. After all, talking about knits and weaves becomes a lot easier when you have tangible examples at hand.
Tangible examples of samples in the Sample Studio. Photo: Josefina Eikenaar
Browsing through samples
During the initial intake, the product developer and the maker often browse through the online Sample Studio, where each sample is described in detail. This helps to establish what the maker envisions. When the designer gets to work in the lab, they start in the physical Sample Studio where they can literally let the samples run through their hands. It’s quite difficult to explain in words what you mean when it comes to something as technical and tactile as weaving and knitting,” says Noortje van den Elzen, project leader of the Research & Development (R&D) programme at the TextielLab. The samples make the words concrete, even for those who have never woven or knitted before. You can see and feel how a certain weave or stitch affects a specific yarn, and you can indicate what you like or want to do differently. So the samples not only serve as inspiration but are also valuable conversation pieces.
Soft Sculptures
“The samples are a great starting point for a new project,” agrees textile artist Yu-Mei Huang, who worked with the TextielLab’s knitting experts for the first time last year. “Instead of trying 100 different things, you can use the physical examples to examine the material and texture. It saves a lot of time.” Huang worked in the lab in February and June on Soft Sculptures, a series of sculptural knits that combine elements of body art and spatial design. The project explores the interaction between textiles, body and space and breaks down the system of fixed sizes and shapes. “The prevailing sizing system is unsustainable and not very wearer-friendly,” says Huang, whose Soft Sculptures are so flexible that they can conform effortlessly to different body types or spaces.
Samples for Yu-Mei Huang’s Soft Sculptures: ‘The Fold’, ‘Wall piece’ and a kimono. Photo: Patty van den Elshout
Bubble wrap
Huang is not new to knitting, but also experienced knitters will find plenty to discover in the Sample Studio. Huang got enough inspiration for no fewer than three new works: an object, a garment and a series of wall hangings. When she started talking about the structure of bubble wrap, product developer Yani Chuang showed her the sample of Sangmin Oh’s latest Knitted Light. Huang loved the sculptural look of this and decided to use a similar technique to develop an object with the working title The Fold. This gracefully pleated, stretchy structure is knitted, like Oh’s lamps, with polyester thread and elastic, resulting in a sturdy but highly flexible and resilient construction. But Huang wanted a less compact, more transparent effect, to give the result an airy, lightweight look. She also added her own monofilament to achieve a specific shade of salmon pink.
Yu-Mei Huang with her samples in the lab. Photo: Patty van den Elshout / Sangmin Oh with samples for his work ‘Knitted Light’. Photo: Patty van den Elshout
Road markings
Huang's design for the knitted our-size-fits-all kimono was already quite well developed when she arrived at the lab. The 3D-knitted samples developed by Robin Pleun Maas for Archive of the Future confirmed the direction taken. An innovative technique was used for this garment, in which a challenging colour pattern could be achieved. As a result, the fabric did not need to be printed afterwards, as Huang initially intended.
The six wall hangings she made are based on road markings that caught her eye in Tilburg. To develop them, she looked at Kustaa Saksi's Anius Myth Series, Jef Montes' Marinero and Marilene Madou's textured cushions. "Just plain jacquard knitting is not that interesting to me," says Huang. "There has to be something special." And that worked out well, as advanced techniques were employed to create striking shapes and distinct textures, patterns and colours.
Samples by Robin Pleun Maas, Kustaa Saksi, Marilene Madou en Jef Montes. Photos: Tommy de Lange
New samples selected
All Yu-Mei Huang's works will be shown in a performance at her solo exhibition in Taiwan and at the London Design Festival this year. And who knows, maybe another sample from this project will soon be included in the Sample Studio, so that other makers can draw inspiration from it. Every year, the studio is replenished with a new selection of samples that fill technical and aesthetic gaps in the existing collection. In the online Sample Studio, photos and technical details can be viewed of all the physical samples found in the room next to the lab. The lab team has now selected some 30 samples from projects completed in 2023: among others, the woven wall coverings for Carré by Bas van Beek, a woven tribute to exploited women by patricia kaersenhout, Brian Anderson's shape-knitted moulds and Laura Dieckwisch's round-knitted hoody against migraines will be added. The new acquisitions will be available in the Sample Studio during this year, so be sure to walk into this space during your visit. Who knows, you might get inspired too!
Samples by Bas van Beek, patricia kaersenhout, Brian Anderson, Laura Dieckwisch. Photos by Josefina Eikenaar
