Thonik – Weaving Stories
16 April 2019
The film ‘Weaving Stories’ by design studio Thonik is presented in the context of the exhibition ‘Cultural Threads’ until May 24 in the Auditorium of the TextielMuseum. The film is a result of the international collaboration between Thonik and Chinese brocade weavers. The project contributes to the exchange of technique and design between the Netherlands and China and empowers the professionals of a craft that is nearly extinct.
The film unfolds narratives about a cooperation between the designers, two female Yunjin brocade weavers, and Chinese fashion designer Fang Ye. The intricate technique, also called ‘Cloud brocade’, combines weaving and embroidery in a painstakingly complex process. The work is so time-consuming that even extremely skilled weavers can produce just one centimeter of cloth per hour. Qiao Yun and Xiao Fang are very skilled weavers. But when it comes to the choice of designs and patterns, the decision of the management or the “master” counts. Weaving Stories shows how design can empower people.
About Thonik
Thonik is an Amsterdam based collective of designers, led by designers Nikki Gonnissen and Thomas Widdershoven. thonik is specialized in visual communication, graphic identity and motion design. The designers earlier worked in the TextielLab to translate their graphic designs into woven plaids.
The film is now on view in de Auditorium of the TextielMuseum until May 24 2019 (except for May 21).
With financial support from the Creative Industries Fund NL.
