Dutch Design Daily

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Nienke Hoogvliet www.nienkehoogvliet.nl

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By 20-12-2014

According to Nienke Hoogvliet, in today’s society vulnerability is mainly seen as a weakness, whereas she believes that it can also lead to strength and a sense of security. She sees blankets as a metaphor for security. She designed two of them: a vulnerable one and a protective one, both inspired by the skin because our skin forms the border area between our inner self and the outside world.

The patterns of the blankets are hand-drawn and then processed in the computer. They are not repetitive and are unique all over the blanket. To capture the organic feel of skin various natural materials such as mohair, linen and cotton are used. In the gray blanket, a fill yarn is used which lends the blanket a coarse relief and makes it extra thick. After weaving, the blanket is hand-steamed to activate the fill yarn.

SEA ME
With this design, Nienke aims to capture the contrast between the problems of plastic waste and all the good things the sea has to offer. The rug is made from marine algae yarn, hand-knotted in a discarded fishing net. This relatively new yarn may play a role in solving sustainability problems in the textile industry. Marine algae grow much faster and need fewer nutrients than for example cotton.