Wooden Textiles by Lenneke Langenhuijsen

designer Lenneke Langenhuijsen

Textiles made of wood? We think of wood as a solid material only.
Lenneke Langenhuijsen travelled to the South Pacific island of Tonga to learn and document the ancient craft technique of beating bark fiber into a textile. In Tonga the locals beat the bark of the Paper Muberry tree to make cloth.
 As part of her 'Wooden Textiles' project she has documented this ancient craft in a short documentary and expanded the basic principle to create a new, flexible fabric. Experimenting with techniques often only applied to textiles, such as dyeing and embroidery, she displayed them in an 'inspiration book' to showcase the full potential of wood as a basic for fabric.
She created a collection of interior textiles as well as a set of wooden stools formed and 'upholstered' with multiple layers of fabric. Engineering the beaten wooden fibers using textile techniques such as sewing, dyeing and embroidery, she creates a new fabric that can be washed at 40 degrees. A great example of a designers’ concern to document a craft story, rediscovering and reviving ancient indigenous techniques.
http://www.lennekelangenhuijsen.com

Don't forget to watch the documentary!