The current state of crafts (or what crafts have become)

in The Netherlands is directly linked to the multiple-sided

economy (but mostly capitalist economy) that is prac-

ticed within the western world. We have noticed that

there are more and more initiatives that urge us to con-

sider alternatives to today’s economical dynamics. There

seem to be a lot of faults in the way we produce and ex-

change goods. Today’s industry is aiming towards higher

production, higher retail values, and it tends to overlook

aspects that help increase the efficiency and sustainabil-

ity of how we make and consume things. It is a fact that

we need to change the rules of the game in order for us

to use the resources that we have and make what we

need. Therefore, today’s craft in The Netherlands ( and

in the western world in general) is about being critical

towards the way we produce things, the way we behave

and use the things that we make. We realise more and

more that we need an economy driven by creativity and

innovation, in order to solve global problems.

Crafts, experiments, new techniques and materials are a

few themes that we saw in the museums/exhibitions we

visited. These exhibitions can be seen as a mirror of the

past and the future of society. An example of a combi-

nation of the past and the future is the Textiel Museum

in Tilburg, where you can find both very old and high

technology machines. And also a selection of new ideas

and experiments related to textile. A traditional exhibition

is presented in the Museum Boijmans, where there are

typical crafts of Dutch culture, from the ceramics of Delft,

to Leerdam glass. At the New Material Award 2014 there

was a strong focus on the future. Every year several

projects are selected for this award which mostly focus

on experimentation and the search for new sources. The

New Material Award believes in the innovate power of

creativity within various design and art disciplines with

regard to sustainability and the development and the

application of new materials.

INTRODUCTION

TRADITIONAL CRAFTS METALSILVERSMITH

HAND FORGINGCASTING BRONZE

WOODCLOGS

SHIP MODELSGUITARBUILDING

TEXTILE FISHING NETS

WEAVING

CERAMICSDELFTS BLUE

GLASS STAINED GLASS

GLASS BLOWING

SILVERSMITH

The basic techniques of a silversmith are casting and

hammering. Casting methods were used mainly for

sculptures. To make a vase a silver plate is entirely

hammered into the shape of the vase or even a teapot.

There are various decoration techniques, for example

embossing. This is a similar technique as the hammering,

only this is done with finer instruments to leave a decoration

at the surface. The gear has nowhere and never reached

a greater perfection and sophistication than in the

Netherlands during the Golden Age.

HAND FORGING

Forging is one of the oldest metalworking methods. In

this craft, a piece of metal is being heated in a flame

and subsequently brought into the correct shape with a

blacksmith’s hammer by means of an anvil. Objects that

are forged, are significantly stronger than objects of similar

shape that have been moulded. This is because the crystal

structure in a moulded object is random, while the micro

crystals, through forging, are aligned in the direction in

which the object is hammered. There have been years

when the blacksmith craft threatened to disappear but that

tide has turned. Nowadays The Netherlands know quite a

few blacksmiths that forge metal in an authentic way. They

are affiliated with Dutch Guild of Art Forging.

CASTING BRONZE

Casting bronze can be seen as a very broad craft. In ancient

times bronze casters mostly made utensils. Nowadays the

focus is more on making bronze sculptures. There are two

methods that are being used the most: lost wax method”

and the “sand casting method”.

Lost wax method:

This method is used for small sculptures, which are

immediately being moulded into their shape. The clay is

baked and at the same time, the wax will melt. The bronze

can now be poured into the hollow space. After this bronze

has cooled, the mould is being removed and the object will

be cleaned and the vent channels will be removed.

Pouring sand method

In this method, the object that has to be moulded is made

out of plaster, wood or plastic. Then the object will be

placed into a new mould, which contains out of two parts.

After hardening you have to carefully take the object out of

the mould. Then there are small channels made from the

casting mouth to lead the molten bronze to the recessed

shape. This method is often used for symmetrical shapes

like a church bell.

CLOGS

The origin of wooden footwear in Europe is not precisely

known. However, there is a possibility that the Celtic and

Germanic peoples from Southern- and Northern Europe

were familiar with some sort of wooden foot covering.

Wooden footwear often ended up as firewood and,

because of its nature, wood will rot away in the long run.

The oldest surviving wooden footwear in Europe is found in

Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and dates

from 1230 and 1280. These finds look very similar to the

wooden shoes as they are still worn in The Netherlands.

Since wooden footwear was a hand-made product, the

shape of the footwear, as well as its production process

showed great local and regional diversity in style. At the

beginning of the 20th century machine-made wooden

footwear was introduced. After WW2, in particular, wooden

shoes disappeared from sight. But in the Netherlands

some people still wear these type of shoes. Mostly as a

piece of traditional clothing.

SHIP MODELS

Wooden ship models are scale representations of ships,

constructed mainly of wood. This type of model has been

built for over two thousand years. Ship modeling is a craft

as old as shipbuilding itself, stretching back to ancient

times when water transport was first developed.

Until the early 18th century, virtually all European small

craft and many larger vessels were built without formal

plans being drawn. Shipwrights would construct models to

show prospective customers how the full size ship would

appear and to illustrate advanced building techniques.

These were also useful for marine artists, and it is clear

that from Dutch Golden Age Painting onwards extensive

use of models was made by artists.

Wooden ship model hulls can be constructed in several

ways. The simplest is a solid wood hull sawn and carved

from a single block of wood. This method requires the

greatest skill to achieve accurate results. You start with a

big block of wood and start cutting, sawing and sanding

with the help of various tools. When you have the basic

shape of the ship you can cover it with very fine pieces of

wood to create details. Especially bending and fitting it,

takes a lot of time.

GUITARBUILDING

Around 1930 there are already several small workshops in

the Netherlands, where violins, mandolins and guitars are

being build to a smaller extent. The guitar gets the image

of a cheap and easy instrument, the three chords can

quickly be learned. After the War, the guitar gained great

popularity because of the start of Rock & Roll.

Soon production lines for the guitar manufacturing are

being set up in the Netherlands. At first it was small scaled

craft, but now it turned into mass production. After the

seventies the competition from abroad becomes so large

that the mass production stagnates. As fast as they came

the big factories disappear again. What remains are the

smaller workshops, where building guitars is again pure

craftsmanship.

The type of wood is very important for the sound of the

guitar. The most commonly used wood species are pine,

maple and mahogany for acoustic guitars. European pine

or spruce is used for the sound box. For the strings both

nylon or metal is being used. Thicker strings are being

wound with metal.

FISHING NETS

Herring plays an important part in the history of the Low

Countries. The first settlers were fishermen and in the

Middle Ages the herring trade became a cornerstone of

the economy. In the nineteenth century herring fishing

moved to coastal towns and Scheveningen became an

important centre of the herring trade.

Herring fishing vessels were traditionally crewed by men.

Women did not sail, they made and mended the torn nets

on shore and sold part of the catch on the streets of the big

cities. In Dutch the making of new nets is called ‘breien’

(knitting) and repairing damage of a net is called ‘boeten’.

The nets are made from fibers woven in a grid-like

structure. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by

knotting a relatively thin thread. Early nets were woven

from grasses, flaxes and other fibrous plant material. Later

cotton was used. Modern nets are usually made of artificial

polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides

such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and

are still used.

WEAVING

Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two

distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right

angles to form a fabric or cloth. The longitudinal threads

are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or

filling. The method in which these threads are inter woven

affects the characteristics of the cloth

The predominant fibre was wool, followed by linen and

nettlecloth for the lower classes. Cotton was introduced to

Sicily and Spain in the 800s. When Sicily was captured by

the Normans, they took the technology to Northern Italy

and then the rest of Europe.

The weaver worked at home and marketed his cloth at

fairs. Warp-weighted looms were commonplace in Europe

before the introduction of horizontal looms in the 10th and

11th centuries. Weaving became an urban craft and to

regulate their trade, craftsmen applied to establish a guild.

By the 13th century, an organisational change took

place, and a system of putting out was introduced. The

cloth merchant purchased the wool and provided it to the

weaver, who sold his produce back to the merchant. The

merchant controlled the rates of pay and economically

dominated the cloth industry. Later production was moved

into purpose-built buildings. The working hours and the

amount of work were regulated. The putting-out system

had been replaced by a factory system.

DELFTS BLUE

Delfts Blue originated around the end of the 16th cen-

tury as a cheap alternative for the Chinese (blue,white)

porcelain. It went true a period of growth between 1650

until 1750. Nowadays the only company thats stil pro-

ducing this kind of earthwork is ‘de Porceleyne fles’ in

Delft. When the ceramic bakers started their venture with

Delfts Blue they mostly decorated the pieces with an

oriental taste to it. Later on the images started do be of a

more Dutch oriented look. Nevertheless did they stil keep

a hint of Oriental influences and decorations on the tiles,

vases and other products that they produced.

A pottery baker, the production site for Delfts blue was

a complex with many different specialities. The workers

had a large variety of skills needed when making this

kind of pottery. The first session in the oven took about 2

hours in average, after this the object had to cool down

in the oven for a period of 2 days. The second baking

session followed after painting and glazing. If it was

needed to add additional colours besides the original

blue, this is when a third baking session would take

place (colours like gold, red or black).These colours are

more difficult to proces and they have to be baked at a

lower temperature.

The blue pigment is Kobaltoxide, almost pure kobalt.

When applied it has a grey color but when baked it turns

to a clear blue. The paint knows many shades and you

kan apply as an almost black colour to nearly transpar-

ent. This used be down solely by hand but today we also

use screen printing for the proces.

Pepe Heykoop

Marcel WandersKLM

KLM

STAINED GLASS

Stained glass is an art form that has been fascinating

for centuries. A long time ago the base of this technique

originated in Egypt with the making of embossed panels

with a frame of wood or bronze. The Romans spread

this technique over the entire world. So that’s how it also

came to the Netherlands. The stained glass technique

was developed in the Middle Ages, since than it has

barely changed.

GLASSBLOWING

Glassblowing is a glass forming technique that involves

inflating molten glass into a bubble, with the aid of a

blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is

called a glassblower, glass smith, or gaffer. A lamp worker

manipulates glass with the use of a torch on a smaller scale,

such as in producing precision laboratory glassware out of

borosilicate glass.

As a novel glass forming technique created in the middle

of the last century BC, glassblowing exploited a working

property of glass which was previously unknown to the

glassworkers: inflation. Inflation refers to the expansion of

a molten blob of glass by introducing a small amount of air

to it. This property is based on the liquid structure of glass

where the atoms are held together by strong chemical

bonds in a disordered and random network, therefore

molten glass is viscous enough to be blown and gradually

hardens as it loses heat

A well known glass factory in The Netherlands can be

found in Leerdam. Here glass is blown with the use of

machines. But there is also a small department where they

still blow glass by hand. Which results into beautiful and

very valuable objects.

MODERN CRAFT BIO-MATERIALSCOLEOPTERALEVENDE PIXELSFORMAFANTASMA CRAFTICALOCAL PRODUCTIONZANDBANK & CLAY SERVICE3D PRINT CANAL HOUSERENEWABLE ENERGYENERGY ADDICTSALPINE CAPSULESOCIAL ISSUESBLUE SKY LAMPEDIBLE GROWTHMEMENTO

WASTE MANAGEMENTTHE SAO PAULO COLLECTION

PALMLEATHER DIGITAL PRODUCTION

RAYFISHENDLESS

BONE CHAIRSTUDIO UNFOLD

L’ARTISAN ELECTRONIQUE 3D DOODLE PEN

SOCIAL ISSUES ARCO LOCAL WOOD BRONZE AGE

NEXT NATURERAYFISH

AAGJE HOEKSTRA COLEOPTERA

In the Netherlands, mealworms are grown for the food in-

dustry. Now mainly as food for animals; in the future also

for people. The mealworm originates from the mealworm

beetle, which dies several months after laying eggs.

Growers see these beetles as waste and throw them

away. In order to reduce waste and reuse natural re-

sources, Aagje Hoekstra examined how the beetles could

be given a second life, as part of her graduation project

at the Utrecht School of the Arts.

Hoekstra peeled the insects by hand, leaving only the

wing cases. In a laboratory, she converted these wing

cases into pure chitin and then into chitosan. By pressing

the chitosan, a material called Coleoptera is formed a

bioplastic made from insect wing cases.

INGRID NIJHOF LEVENDE PIXELSUsing pigment-carrying bacteria, ink is being grown that

can be used in the field of graphic design. Ink nurs-

ery Levende Pixels (Living Pixels), can grow the whole

colour spectrum, including neon colours. For the CYMK

selection, bacteria can be found in, for example, earth

(blue), on our skin (pink), on plants (yellow), and also in

our mouths (black). The ink-growing machine makes the

graphic designer of the future self-sufficient in natural ink.

Bacteria play an increasingly large role as auxiliary ma-

terials and building materials. In theory, the ink nursery

system can be put into practice. Ingrid Nijhoff is looking

into the possibilities of realizing a real, working nursery.

TJEERD VEENHOVEN BIO-LAMINATES

Tjeerd Veenhoven is initiator of HuisVeendam. Together

with a dedicated team of specialists he develops appli-

cations for starch technology. The rural town Veendam

has a rich history of potato starch production. The hum-

ble potato was the start of a large value chain resulting

in countless products, most often fully biodegradable.

With the rise of oil this value chain diminished drastically

and much knowledge and experience was lost.Now the

petrochemical value chain is troublesome and ending

there is a revival of this potato starch technology. Due to

modern technology and improved analysis the possibili-

ties of the biological adhesive are plentiful and often even

more effective than its synthetic opposite.To emphasize

the success of this biodegradable product HuisVeendam

designs new applications for potato starch. For HuisVeen-

dam designer Tjeerd Veenhoven selected 120 organic

waste streams and turned them to a collection of biolam-

inates. This product is fully biodegradable en applica-

ble on walls, objects and in the future also flooring. The

excellent adhesive properties of starch can upgrade the

value of organic waste and kickstart new value chains

which are more transparent and sustainable.

ED VAN HINTE LIGHTNESS

Lightness Studios stimulates development and applica-

tion of lightweight structures. Lightness saves energy and

materials (emission decrease), accelerates, and en-

hances productivity and flexibility. The aim is to get more

added value out of less material and energy. Lightness is

more efficient. At the same time lightness is ambiguous.

We like light things when we have to carry ore wear them,

yet we prefer endurance and weight for most things we

can enter: vehicles, buildings. It is a great challenge to

render the preference for lightness universal.

It takes years for lightness to become normal. Apart from

that new technologies need to be designed and new

processes need to be developed. Lightness Studios

seeks to stimulate innovation by creating scenarios and

elaborate elements from those in tangible models. Light-

ness Studios cooperates with designers, engineers and

companies.

The first theme for Lightness Studios to pick up is Light

Building. Building requires a lot of transportation, produc-

es mountains of waste and suffers from inertia. Buildings

doesn’t only concern buildings, but also machines, tools,

vehicles, materials and, of course, structures.

DRAWN FROM CLAYATELIER NL

In line with a tradition that lived in Makkum until well

into the 19th century in which the presence of local raw

materials was a first condition for manufacturing, Royal

Tichelaar Makkum introduces a straightforward pottery’s

service by Atelier NL.

The project Drawn from Clay started by digging up, shap-

ing and baking clay from different locations through the

Netherlands. They created a beautiful series of plates and

bowls in different colors and structures, showing the local

identity of the area the clay was taken from.

Artists have long explored the significance of ‘place’ – as

a site of history and identity; as a dynamic process in

constant flux; and as a politically charged way to both

challenge and contextualise the world.

SANDBANKATELIER NL

The glass industry uses only white, pure sand for the

manufacturing of glass. This type of sand can only be

found in a small number of sand quarries around the

world. As part of the Sandbank project, Atelier NL is

experimenting with various local, non-pure types of sand.

Types of sand from different locations produce different

colours, patterns, and textures. Sand from different loca-

tions produces different colors, patterns, and textures.

Melted in the oven the sands fracture, foam, and harden

into crystallization patterns. With SandBank Atelier NL

explores the potential of these new material variations

(mixtures of minerals, metals and other components that

are attached to the grains).

The deceptively simple act of transforming sand into

glass reveals stories of the grains themselves and their

dazzling diversity, stories of deep time and endless

change.

DUS ARCHITECTS3D PRINT CANAL HOUSE

The 3D Print Canal House is a three-year research project

in which DUS Architects, in collaboration with a number

of national and international partners, work on the printing

of a canal house to study the possibilities of 3D printing in

architecture.

DUS Architects print the canal house room by room with

the KamerMaker, or Room Maker, a portable 3D printer.

The granules used for printing consist of 80% vegetable

flaxseed oil. 3D printing in architecture provides numer-

ous benefits in terms of sustainability, such as transport

reduction, little to no waste, printing on location, and the

possibility of recycling the building.

NAOMI KIZHNERENERGY ADDICTS

Industrial designer Naomi Kizhner has developed a

concept for an invasive jewellery collection that converts

kinetic energy from the body’s involuntary movements

into electricity. It is a response to the world’s impending

energy crisis, looking for an existing energy source that is

yet to be tapped in to.

The pieces would be embedded into the surface of the

skin to capture the energy of subconscious movements,

such as the flow of blood through the veins and blinking,

transforming it into a useable energy resource. Made

of gold and 3D-printed biopolymer, each design in the

collection would be worn on different parts of the body to

harvest energy from specific physiological functions.

ROSS LOVEGROVEALPINE CAPSULE

The capsule comprises a mounting living unit, where

visitors can stay over night in the Italian Alps. Power is

provided by several “power plants’, which consist of

photovoltaic panels combined with a vertical axis wind

turbine. The Alpine Capsule defines a new architectural

condition, off grid and harmonic with nature. It expands

the potential of modern life, its comforts, its technological

connect and its vision, away from cities and into the realm

of landscape and “open space”.

The project is a prototype for a new way of living off-grid,

even as a temporary experience, a new ambition for the

21st century that can be implemented in so many envi-

ronments.

BLUE SKY PROJECTCHRIS KABEL

Scientific research has shown that the best way to deal

with winter depression is the light of a clear blue sky on a

summer’s day. For the Anti-Winter Depression exhibition

that took place in the winter of 2013/14 in Marres in Maas-

tricht, Chris Kabel conducted a study into the physical

process that makes the sky blue. The preliminary result of

this study is the Blue Sky lamp, a prototype therapy lamp

that simulates the light of a clear blue sky on a summer’s

day.

Kabel conducted trials with green soap, aerogel, and

Pastis dissolved in water, and talked to a diffusion expert

at the Agricultural University of Wageningen. Eventually,

he opted for a nanopowder (O2Ti). Once suspended in

transparent resin, these nanoparticles diffuse the incom-

ing rays of light in the same way that the earth’s atmo-

sphere diffuses the light from the Sun.

EDIBLE GROWTHCHLOE RUTZERVELD

We live in an era where food is not only grown or bred

anymore, but manufactured in a laboratory setting or

build with a 3D printer. These technologies influence

supply chains, eating habits, preparation methods and

introduce entirely new food products to the market. Edible

growth is an example of a future food product that forms

a bridge between new technologies and authentic prac-

tises of growing and breeding food.

Multiple layers containing seeds, spores and yeast are

printed according to a personalized 3D file. Within five

days the plants and fungi mature and the yeast ferments

the solid inside into a liquid. The product’s intensifying

structure, scent and taste are reflected in its changing

appearance. Depending on the preferred intensity, the

consumer decides when to harvest and enjoy the deli-

cious, fresh and nutrient-rich edible.

MEMENTOGERALDINE SPILKER

In response to a recent increase in the number of crema-

tions, Geraldine Spilker’s project, Memento – After Time

Elapsed, provides an alternative way to keep ashes that

could replace the traditional urn.

The choice of what to do with ashes is very limited. They

are put in the ground, scattered or preserved. In the latter

case, they will be put in an urn – an alien object, most

commonly made from synthetic material. She proposes

creating a small tactile object that can be held and inter-

acted with, made from the ashes of the deceased bound

with resin. The object is completely biodegradable.

THE SAO PAULO COLLECTIONSTUDIO SWINE

Taking its name from where it has been designed and

made, the ‘são paulo collection’ by studio swine employs

waste materials found in brazil’s largest city, transforming

it into design objects. Known as the ‘aluminium capital’

because it collects and recycles more cans than any-

where else in the world, the UK and brazil-based duo of

azusa murakami and alexander groves have harnessed

the potential of the scrap metal material surplus through

means of sandcasting to create the legs of their ‘cactus

coffee table’, as well as the abstracted palm pattern seen

in their ‘lounge chair’.

The series of pendant, floor and table lamps feature bulbs

have been fashioned from beverage bottles, heated and

re-blown into an eclectic set of organic forms, rather

than through the application of the conventional glass

recycling process where cullet is used. This decision to

use the original vessel in its entirety and manipulating it,

results in a clearer higher quality glass which requires

less energy and retains some mark of its previously

industrial manufactured state. These bulbs are then fitted

with customized brass fittings and illuminated through the

use of LEDs. The ‘cactus standing light’ features a main

structure made from pine off-cutes which has16 branch-

es extending from its central base, holding these bottle

bulbs.

PALMLEATHER PROJECTTJEERD VEENHOVEN

Palmleather’ is an innovation in material research by

dutch designer tjeerd veenhoven. A new fabric was

born from a mere interest in throw away plates made

from dried palm leaves, and from this raw vegetation the

veenhoven conducted numerous experiments to create

a plant-based substance that mimics cow-leather. The

inventor achieved this through soaking the fragile, brittle

greenery in water which in turn became flexible and

soft. To maintain this useful condition, within 6 months,

veenhoven engineered a bio-chemical solution to keep

it from dehydrating. This new textile can replace animal-

based items, such as bags, shoes and book covers, with

much less pollution and, furthermore, is also able to be

composted.

Bags and book covers can be made from the leather-

like material from this discovery veenhoven met with

neelam chhiber, founder of the industree craft foundation,

and set up a business model of which artisans are able

to produce and use the textile at a local level. As the

product is very cheap, plentiful and simple to fabricate,

only a year from its inception the first producer-owned

processing unit has been set up. The venture makes

6000 ‘palmleather’ leaves a month and is manufacturing

throw-away sandals and purses. The commodity is

continually being tested for improvements in slicing, cross

laminating, gluing and stitching, with more community

initiatives budding concurrently.

HONING YOUR CRAFT Mastering a certain craft is something that isn’t a

prominent aspect of modern society. To become a

master in a craft you need devotion and a lot of time to

put into mastering your craft but within a consumerist

society where time is money this isn’t a preferable

aspect to take in consideration. Historically a craft

was passed on from master to apprentice, once the

apprentice was finished and set up his own shop he

also could call himself a craftsman/woman.

In the age where craft was the standard, repairing

was optioned long before replacing. If the fix was

manageable for the consumer this could happen with

a few bangs off a hammer or maybe some glue. If

it would be beyond the hands of the consumer he/

she would let it get repaired by the hands of the

craftsman.

Nowadays you buy a product lets say : a Iphone from

Apple. The warranty terms state that if you open the

product yourself and try to fix it you automatically

discard your right on a warranty. What they say with

terms like this, is that ‘you’ the consumer are not

qualified enough to tamper with their own crafted

product and if you even attempt to do say your wallet

wil feel the consequences. The choice of self repair

disappears.

By making these kind of terms they slowly toss out the

availability and will for consumers to let’s say become

a master craftsman in repairing apple products. The

rapid speed in which the technology around us is

constantly growing is also a factor which makes it

almost near impossible for us to keep up knowledge

wise. Replacing is in most situations the best or even

only option.

Arco Local Wood

BUYNOTHINGNEW

Becoming a master in your craft isn’t that necessary

anymore, with the help of technology and education

it has become a much more greater tool to outsource

various qualities. While our knowledge grows the

fields in which one wishes to specialise grows along

with it. Sharing skills is more efficient than passing on

skills. A craft is a pastime or a profession that requires

some particular kind of skilled work. In a historical

sense, particularly as pertinent to the Middle Ages

and earlier, the term is usually applied to people

occupied in small-scale production of goods, or their

maintenance. In a more contemporary setting we can

still see crafts in the way that we share our skills and

knowledge locally. an example is the Buynothingnew

initiative in Amsterdam.

Buynothingnew.nl is a platform where people are

offered to exchange goods and services. It’s based

on local communities that rebel against the consumer

norms we have set for us. That replacing is the better

option over repairing. on buynothingnew.nl you are

able to exchange your car with someone else his

motorbike but also exchange your skill with the skill of

a neighbour.

CONTEMPORARYCRAFT

For example you have to revarnish the outside of

your house and you happen to find someone close

to you that happens to be very skilled at varnishing

but paying someone to do so just doesn’t fit the

budget. The idea of butnothingnew.nl is also that if

you are a skilled carpenter you can offer your craft as

payment for the craft of another. The predecessor of

buynothingnew.nl is a similar platform noppes.nl, buy

nothing new simply expanded on the concept.

I believe this is a very interesting view on what crafts

could be and become. crafts in a sense that “goods”

are created by combined skills and the sharing /

trading of such skills. Our perception of what crafts

should be is usually linked to hand-made without

any intervention of a machine. The could be sad

conclusion is, ‘ that just doesn’t happen that often

anymore’. when calling something craft because it’s

hand made you are saying that every single good we

make is craft.

The interference of human hands hasn’t been

excluded just yet, their is always need for human to be

involved in the production process.

Formafantasma Craftica

DIGITAL CRAFTS

The concept of hand made totally disappears

when talking about digital crafts. I see digital crafts

as something that brings us as humans closer to

machines and robotics. A playful interaction between

software and biology. To be able to write code for

software you really have to train yourself to gain a

certain comfort in it. Coders are craftsmen in their own

digital world.

The interaction between human and machine

is something thats been growing in a rate that

consumers aren’t even able anymore to comprehend.

The speed in which our technology is growing isn’t

anywhere near comparable with the speed in which

the industrial revolution took place. The industrial

revolution almost made crafts die out. Handiwork

was replaced by machinery and unique pieces

where replaced by mass produced products. The

technological revolution in which we are present

however is bringing a new dimension to what craft

could be considered as.

Formafantasma Craftica - Makkink And BeyTouchable memories

L’ARTISAN ÉLECTRONIQUE

A good example is a project of studio Unfold.

In L’Artisan Électronique, pottery, one of the oldest

artisanal techniques for making utilitarian objects,

is combined with new digital media. However, the

installation still clearly refers to the artisanal process

of working in clay.Unfold’s ceramic 3d printer has

a great resonance with the way traditional potters

handled clay by building a form out of coils of clay.

The virtual pottery wheel on the other hand, is a digital

tool to ‘turn’ forms in thin air.

This digital crafts in way that people are able to

hone a craft (pottery) in a conventional technique

yet in a unconventional setting. Pursuing lost crafts

and making them digital. This just one approach to

what you could consider digital craft. You could also

see digital craft as something completely new and

incomparable with older crafts.

The thing that strikes me within the whole field of

digital crafts is that the relation between what is digital

and what is human is the most important role, and

when creating digital it seems to be very important to

simulate crafts we all know from past times.Studio Unfold

DIRK VAN DER KOOIJENDLESS

One plastic string, made out of old refrigerators,

crafted by a robot, into a chair. When the first plastic

chairs were made, they began with fairly simple tools

and moulds to form the plastic. The simple tools

were easy to adjust and this gave the designer the

chance to evaluate the final product and adjust the

tools almost endlessly. As labour grew more and

more expensive, it was filtered out of the process with

automated and complicated tools. These automated

processes have been very inflexible until now. High

investments in complicated moulds made it almost

impossible for a designer to evaluate and refine

his final object. The designer is no longer involved

in the production process and the design stage is

completely shifted to a pre production phase. As Dirk

van der Kooij considered this a lost chance he made

a pact with the devil, because he found a solution,

not in labour but in computerization. By combining

different techniques, he was able to design an

automated but very flexible process.

Doodle 3d pen

A NEW VISUAL LANGUAGE

I believe it’s interesting to think about the visual

language digital crafts have to offer. It could open

a new realm of aesthetics and conceptions.Today

we live in a Digital Age; a time when technological

advancements are presenting craft practitioners with

liberating opportunities. A new visual language is

emerging. A language which involves manipulating,

distorting and exploiting the parameters of digital

software and fabrication tools. These tools enable the

production of objects that move beyond the limitations

of the hand. Imagine objects three-dimensionally

printed from a bed of nylon powder; shapes

appearing to seamlessly morph and merge with

each other; materials etched and cut by computer-

controlled lasers and milling machines; movements

and sound waves captured and translated into

physical objects by sensors and scanners; and new

forms randomly self-generated by computer software.

As the human touch is considered a pivotal anchor in

the definition of craft, is this made redundant amid the

adoption of digital tools? Does digital perfection allow

space for the great charm of mistakes?

Studio tjerp

JORIS LAARMAN

Our lab is an experimental playground set up to

study and shape the future. It tinkers with craftsmen,

scientists and engineers on the many new possibilities

of upcoming technology. We want to add cultural

meaning to technological progress and show the

beauty of how things could work. Our work is very

diverse, from experimental furniture and production

processes to museum installations, to architecture,

film and workshops at universities around the world.

In 2011 we received 1 of the 8 innovator of the year

awards by the wall street journal and since 2004 the

work we’ve made with Joris Laarman Lab has been

added to the permanent collections many renowned

international museums like the MoMA, V&A, Centre

Pompidou and recently the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Bone Funiture

NEXT NATURE Rayfish Footwear is a fictional company that offered

personalized sneakers crafted from genetically

modified stingray leather. The launch of the company

catalyzed a debate on emerging biotechnologies and

the products it may bring us. It furthermore ques-

tioned our consumptive relationship with animals and

products in general. While such discussions often

remain abstract, we aimed to make them tangible in a

concrete product you can love or hate.

RayFish Foodwear

OPEN DESIGN ENZO MARI

For Enzo Mari “design is always education”,

with the “proposal for an” assemble furniture

using rough boards want to push people

to take over the project physically bringing

to fruition, with his own hands, carrying out

various pieces of furniture, to start off the

chair. Sedia 1 stimulates reflection on the

theme of do-it-yourself celebrating a world in

which the dignity of labour is not alienated.

ENZO MARIRECESION DESIGN

NOSIGNERRE:FARM

TOMORROW LABOPEN SOURCE

ECOLOGYPLAY THE CITY

INSTRUCTABLESINSTRUCTABLES

RESTAURANTTHINGIVERSE OPENSOURCE BEEHIVES

STADSLAB ROTTERDAM UIT JE EIGEN STAD

RECESION DESIGN

A way of “designing” that goes beyond current trends and

returns the object’s essential form and function to the forefront.

Recession Design is a collection of objects created using

everyday DIY products that are processed and assembled

using common utensils and accessories. Featuring a design

that is clean but not banal, essential but not meager, the

objects show how a good project can result in high-level

design, even with the use of readily available materials and

utensils.

The idea behind Recession Design is very simple but opens

an interesting debate on the meaning of “DESIGNING” today:

The economic crisis is fact a pretext and opportunity for

critical reflection on the contemporary design world.

NOSIGNER

Mozilla Factory Space, based on the idea of Open

Source. Mozilla Japan is part of the Mozilla Foundation,

which has promoted the idea of open source and open

source software.

“Open Source” is a movement to open the source code

of software. It enables everyone to use that software and

participate in its improvement. This movement has made

it possible to continually develop high-quality software

on a budget. This office is constructed by using common

products such as corner modules or plastic pallets,

exploring the concept of “Open Source Furniture.”

Because general products are used and all drawings are

uploaded to the web, it is possible for anyone to make

this functional office furniture inexpensively.

RE:FARM

Re:Farm is a collective project started and led by

Hernani Dias with the purpose of developing open

source software and hardware tools for urban farmers.

In its creators’ words, the project is a cross between a

good meal, hardware (the urban farm, the composter,

the electronics, the sensors, the recycled materials),

and software. Re:farm seeks to provide people with

tools to easily create, manage and visualize their

urban farms. Its ultimate goals are to encourage the

production and consumption of local goods, using

methods that respect the environment, and promote

organic agriculture, science, biodiversity, and local

gastronomy.

TOMORROW LAB

Tomorrow Lab developed a open-source traffic

counter device called WayCount. WayCount leverages

crowdsourced traffic count data to create better cities.

It is a hardware and website platform for automobile

and bicycle traffic data. WayCount users collect

data in the streets using WayCount devices, then

upload and map their data to WayCount.com. The

website is an unprecedented method for collecting

and sharing open traffic data. Tomorrow Lab believe

that if we collectively gather and share traffic count

data, together we can create a leap in understanding

the movement patterns of automobiles and bicycles

worldwide.The result can positively influence

transportation design decisions and create safe,

efficient, sustainable, and more logical transportation

systems.

OPEN SOURCE ECOLOGY

Open Source Ecology developing open source

industrial machines that can be made for a fraction of

commercial costs, and sharing their designs online

for free. The goal of Open Source Ecology is to create

an open source economy, an efficient economy which

increases innovation by open collaboration.They publish

Requirements and Requests for Proposals and encourage

anybody to apply either to work remotely or on-site. On-

site work includes prototyping, infrastructure buildout,

Immersion Workshops, agriculture, and other education

opportunities. The approach is creating not single

machines, but instead modular, scalable construction

sets for building any machine, to build yourself, to build

civilization.

PLAY THE CITY

Gaming is becoming a popular solution for complex urban

planning processes. In Amsterdam, the Play the City

project uses the logics of gaming to open up entrenched

urban developments. Ekim Tan founded the Play the

City Foundation in an attempt to create an alternative to

executing planning. The lack of collaboration between

diverse groups and the supremacy of a few dominant

parties that spend vast amounts of money can create

inadequate planning results. Play the City unites various

people proposing different ideas in order to create an

open urban project. After obtaining an idea of the different

people and organizations involved or interested in the

planning of an area, ‘players’ meet around a physical 3D

model of the target area.

INSTRUCTABLES

Instructables is a website speciali- zing in user-

created and uploaded do-it-yourself projects,

which other users can comment on and rate

for quality. It was created by Eric Wilhelm and

Saul Griffith and laun- ched in August 2005.

Instructables is dedicated to step-by-step colla-

boration among members to build a variety of

projects. Users post instructions to their projects,

usually accompanied by visual aids, and then

interact through comment sections below each

Instructable step as well in topic forums.

INSTRUCTABLES RESTAURANT

Everything in the restaurant is downloaded from Instructables,

and what we could not find there, we added to its contents.

Download it or take the instruction with you from the restaurant

during your visit.

The Instructables Restaurant comes with full instructions for ev-

erything. In most restaurants you get to buy and enjoy the food.

In some restaurants, if you like the furniture you can buy it.

But in the Instructables Restaurant you go home knowing how to

make the food as well as the furniture.

The Internet is full of passive informa- tion, and more is added

every second. By really using and implementing this information

not only do you plug into a world of know-how but it’s also great

for the people who have shared their knowledge.

The Instructables Restaurant originates from the input of others.

This creates a different notion of ownership and the intellectual

property of a regular business. A lot of the input comes from

others. This is what we like about the idea.

The Instructables Restaurant creates a space between limitless

information and reality. It’s a 2.0 dock station where digital and

real connect and communicate.

THINGIVERSE

Thingiverse is a website dedicated to the sharing of

user-created digital design files. Providing primarily

open source hardware designs licensed under the GNU

General Public License or Creative Commons licenses,

users choose the type of user license they wish to attach

to the designs they share. 3D printers, laser cutters,

milling machines and many other technologies can be

used to physically create the files shared by the users on

Thingiverse.

Thingiverse is widely used in the DIY technology and

Maker communities, by the RepRap Project, and by 3D

Printer and MakerBot operators. Numerous technical

projects use Thingiverse as a repository for shared

innovation and dissemination of source materials to the

public. Many of the objects are for the purpose of repair.

SOURCE BEEHIVES

A new crowdfunding project aims to put the power to

fight colony collapse disorder in the hands of everyday

people. Now, anyone can log on and download a

simple design for their own internet-connected beehive.

These hives do more than provide a home for local

bee populations, they also give scientists new tools to

monitor global bee health using specialized sensors

which track geolocation, humidity, temperature, bee

numbers, and even the mood of the colony. The hope

is that being able to crowdsource this data will help

scientists better understand why bees are declining and

how to protect them.

STADSLAB ROTTERDAM

A FabLab is a space equipped to function as

a technical platform for prototyping, devoted to

invention and innovation, intended to provide a

stimulus and inspiration for the local company. A

place to create, play, learn, educate, invent. Being

part of a FabLab means being connected to a global

community of students, educators, technologists,

researchers, makers and innovators, including

subjects takes a continuous exchange of knowledge.

FabLab users learn or design and manufacture

of objects or to realize created by other users.

Strengthened by the experience of producing

autonomously tools and technology, users acquire

the dual role of apprentices and mentors exchanging

with each other different types of skills: from learning

the use of machinery, to the knowledge of materials,

design processes and engineering.

UIT JE EIGEN STAD

Uit je eigen stad project shall have the objective

that all of their activities make a positive contribution

to a more sustainable food system in which, as

we know consumers and producers manage our

food in a conscious way. Focusing on three points:

-Education, showing how food is produced, allowing

them to feel, smell and taste of course, through

guided tours, lectures, workshops, educational

materials, discussion evenings and events;

-Innovation, are open to new developments and

techniques of food production and distribution,

preparation and consumption of it. A place where

there is no room for experimentation, and space to

facilitate the discussion on it; -Enhance, emphasize

the interest in the city and all its inhabitants to

engage in what you do, but also create a beautiful

place for city dwellers to enjoy the food produced

locally.

ExcursionsTEXTIELMUSEUM

TJEERD VEENHOVENWIEKIE SOMERS

COR UNUMORIGINAL MARKET LEIDEN

MUSEUM ROTTERDAMVOLKENKUNDE MUSEUM LEIDEN

NEW MATERIAL AWARD 2014

Textielmuseum

Tjeerd Veenhoven

Wiekie Somers

Cor Unum

Original Market Leiden

Museum Rotterdam

Volkenkunde Museum Leiden

New Material Award 2014

New Material Award 2014

Craft has become more complex than we know

it from the past but it is still very much related to

current needs and current resources. The only

difference is that it’s no longer about specialised

knowledge and skill, but instead it is adapting to

today’s developing knowledge sharing economy.

People are not makers anymore. In developed

economies, people have become accustomed to

consuming what different industries make instead

of producing these things themselves. Therefore

craft obtains a wider significance according to

technological advancements, being no longer

limited to manual work.

The concept we have around crafts only seems to

be related with the aspect hand-made. We believe

that craft is something that is present in every

object around us yet when working with craft as a

designer their are more aspects than hand/man

made to take in consideration. The relation be-

tween design, environment, material, production

and user are the guidelines in which we believe

you can hone a craft in a contemporary setting.

We believe that a craftsman in way that he/she

masters only one particular skill/craft isn’t the-

standard anymore. Craft in a designer context is

becoming a less tangible expression, it’s the way

how we incorporate global interests and show this

in a local context. Understanding how something

is made, why it’s made that way, is more vital to

modern life than ever.

Craft is a language of material, provenance and

making. It is learning the value of things. The

reason craft, authenticity and uniqueness has be-

come such a great value for consumers is linked

to the break-neck speed in which the technologies

around us keep growing. Even if people go along

with the digital trends becoming digitalised sparks

a feeling of detachment. You are 1 of a million

others linked to perfectly similar database.

Having a unique crafted object takes us back to

a more individualised feeling a local product that

makes us feel like home, a quality that is desired

in the race of technology. However understand-

able we believe that this digital age only provides

an opportunity for new crafts and craftsmen to

arise. As said earlier it is learning the value of

things and the appreciation for time and

skill which is needed within a craft.

CONCLUSION