ONE WEEK ABOUT Driving Dutch Design by curator Patrick Aarts Sen (BNO). Over the next few days, we show the Drivers of 2025, Lena Winterink is one of them.
Lena Winterink is a designer and artist based in Amsterdam whose work centers on research into materials, society, and the often invisible stories woven into the fabrics that shape our lives. Using textile design as both medium and method, she questions systems of value, sustainability, and our emotional relationships to the materials that surround us.
Her projects begin with social issues and evolve through collaboration with craftspeople, scientists, creatives, and communities. Together, they explore the cultural, historical, and personal layers of textiles to uncover how materials reflect identity, memory, and place. The result is often a narrative-driven design that invites reflection and dialogue.
A recurring theme in her work is the value of used materials which is lost due to mass production and overconsumption. A central question is: when do we assign value to a material or object, and when do we not? It is in these subtle moments of transition, that her work seeks to restore a sense of care to the materials we surround ourselves with.
Through research and material experimentation, Lena reimagines textiles as tools for inquiry; uncovering the layered relationships between people, materials, and systems.
Driving Dutch Design programme
By participating in the Driving Dutch Design programme, I have set aside time to review and strengthen the business side of my design practice. Besides the content of the programme, it is extremely valuable to get together with a group of like-minded people, exchange experiences and tips, and actively work on the financial side of running your own design studio.
Driving Dutch Design
Driving Dutch Design is the professionalisation and networking programme of the Dutch design sector that helps driven designers get started in the world of creative entrepreneurship. Besides Design your business and Design your identityfor startups, in 2025 there is also DDD Next Level for mid-career designers.
The organisation is in the hands of the BNO and the programme is supported by Stichting Stokroos and the Cultuurfonds, thanks in part to the Ahrend Fonds.
