Kiki van Eijk: Weaving Traditions

At the PlusDesign gallery, the self-described "young, dreamer and pragmatic" designer shows domestic warmth.

In recent years, fabric seems to have become the new design frontier with several designers working on weaves, from the Talking Textiles exhibition by trendsetter Ledewijj Edelkoort – which is touring the world – to all the Scandinavian graphic design collections. Now, through 31 March, the PlusDesign gallery in Milan is holding Weaving Traditions, organised in collaboration with Rome's Secondome and the participation of Nodus and Bernhardt Design. It showcases the young Dutch designer Kiki van Eijk, a former student at the distinguished academy in Eindhoven and who also lives in the city. Long appreciated on the international scene for her romantic limited editions, she describes herself as young, a dreamer and pragmatic.

"I have always tried to create my own way of experiencing design; it is essential to have a clear vision and your own personality and to pay careful attention to detail. When working for a client, I try most of all to understand and acquire the brief; then I start thinking, source materials and draw by hand first (ed. note – always with a black pen) and then on the computer, which I see as a work tool just like an electric saw or a sewing machine. I follow my instinct and my imagination and I always pursue my way of designing. The pieces I produce must represent the best of me; they must be totally Kiki van Eijk. A new design is always a long and tiring process because I am a perfectionist. I tend to analyse all the shortcomings in time, before I make the model because I have to be sure before I move on and not have any doubts. My rule is to always respect yourself and never betray yourself but, at the same time, not be afraid to take risks", says van Eijk.

Her approach to design is intimate and emotional, a combination of stimuli from the world of fairytales (her favourite book is Alice in Wonderland) and linked to the beauty and simplicity of everyday objects. "I prefer materials that are easy to work with and can be shaped with your hands." In fact, the Milan exhibition centres on pieces made recently by van Eijk and fabric is the star presence. As in all her works – the coloured skeleton-like clocks (Floating Frame Mantel Clocks), the fine blown-glass cloches, the pieces in the Cut&Paste collection that look as if just pulled out of a magician's hat and the butter-like ceramic (Soft Pot) – the Wallhangings series features her stylistic cipher. These are "home tapestries" made for everyday use and not just to hang on the wall and be looked at. They illustrate several living types, a farmhouse and provincial and city houses, making clear reference to domestic warmth, the joy in familiar things and the poetry of simple decoration that have always driven and marked the world of Kiki van Eijk – KIKIWORLD as her website calls it. The designer wants them to be used as blankets, throws to cuddle up in on the sofa reading a book in the evenings.

She likes to call them "home fabrics" because they produce security, warmth and cosiness. "I see domestic warmth as a cosy and pleasant place created by a particular, unique and spontaneous atmosphere produced by your personality".

These are the feelings she wants to instill in her tapestries. The secret lies in their manufacture, the execution of the yarns and the sophisticated weaving technique that increases their softness. "I like to create my works by hand and I do it in such a way that my craft approach also influences my industrial production, whenever possible", she adds. Plus Design is also showing the Savage Flowers carpet from the 2012 Nodus collection, with its refined knotting of natural banana, bamboo, silk and linen fibres, inspired by wild flowers found near her studio. Furniture is also on show, with fabric applied to a sofa in the Workshop collection made for Bernhardt Design in her first – and only – joint effort with Joost van Bleiswijk, also a designer and Kiki's life partner.

We asked her what work with her soul mate was like: "It is wonderful to share your profession with the same person as you share your life with, although it can sometimes be quite hard. It has only happened to us once. Our styles are very different bit I believe we have a profound influence on each other in a sort of 'shared evolution'." Domestic warmth, indeed.

Kiki van Eijk: Weaving Traditions
Galleria Plusdesign
Via Ventura 6, Milano
Through 31 March

Kiki van Eijk: Weaving Traditions

At the PlusDesign gallery, the self-described "young, dreamer and pragmatic" designer shows domestic warmth.

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