You understand the sensation when the yr is sort of over and you are feeling like you have not accomplished sufficient? I felt that on the finish of 2023. 2023 has been a yr of reflection and evolution.
The second half of 2022 and all of 2023 have been a time of each private and enterprise transformation. Should you dwell consciously, as I do, you recognise patterns that largely decide how you reside your life and the way you do enterprise. It’s good to turn into conscious of them. Generally I’ve to hit the brakes to see if I’m nonetheless heading in the right direction and make changes. It was the primary time in 7 years that I felt I wanted to alter course drastically. It is the 7-year itch perhaps… And typically you brake too late and crash into one thing. That was what occurred to me in the summertime of 2022. It wasn’t full burnout, however I used to be effectively on my manner. As a result of I used to be nonetheless recovering, I took it fairly straightforward for the primary half of 2023 and turned extra inward. I began a six-month enterprise coaching which I accomplished in December, effectively accomplished…. there are nonetheless some modules I am engaged on. But it surely has given me a lot focus and vitality that I’m enormously trying ahead to this new yr!
Moreover, 2023 was additionally a difficult time globally, and also you discover that
within the design world as effectively. Whereas my self-initiated tasks and
ensuing gross sales did higher than ever, commissions lagged a bit behind.
What I realized
Proudly owning a small enterprise is all about change, studying as a lot as you possibly can and rising your ardour. For me, that meant getting again to what I really like. It means saying goodbye to the Dwelling Color undertaking and collaboration after engaged on it for 7 years with nice pleasure and keenness. I stay dedicated to an eco-conscious and artistically nuanced method to color. As an alternative, I’ll assist designers and types use color in a sustainable manner – extra particulars on this initiative shall be shared quickly right here on this weblog and in my e-newsletter.
What I completed
Within the spirit of celebrating the yr passed by, right here are some things I’ve achieved together with your help:
- I launched my Chromarama Riso prints, that are very effectively acquired and for which I even received the 2023 DNA Paris Design Award. After a number of earlier nominations, I now have my first design award!
- I additionally exhibited my work once more at particular locations akin to OBJECT Rotterdam, in wine bar Côte du Cool, North Sea Jazz Competition, hair salon Het Haarpand and through the first version of Design Passage The Hague
- I designed my first customized rug for a personal consumer
- I used to be capable of perform two extra very good commissions that got here out of the Dwelling Color undertaking: dyeing a operating equipment for Olympic athlete Molly Seidel on behalf of PUMA Working and designing curtains for the brand new scenography of Arcam Amsterdam.
- Nice press publications, akin to a two-page unfold with an interview and overview of my work in VT Wonen and a photograph collection in Eigen Huis en Interieur.
- I used to be additionally included within the books “Kleerkastvasten” and “Goede Gespreksstof”, which supplies younger individuals perception into the previous, current and way forward for the Dutch textile business.
- And I even wrote a chapter on “Sensible Color” for Elsevier Publishers’ ebook “Sensible Garments and Wearable Expertise“.
- As , I can not produce a lot of my work myself as a result of I discover too many strategies and supplies fascinating. However I do all the time take pleasure in studying extra about sure strategies by doing it myself, for instance, I’ve learnt tufting and the way to thread the warp of a 4-shaft loom.
- And final however not least, I did a residency in mouth-blown and hand-formed glass in Sweden.
Reflecting on this record, I can nonetheless look again with pleasure on a rare yr, and the sensation that I did not do sufficient isn’t any extra. Maybe the best productiveness occurred behind the scenes, however I planted precious seeds for the long run.
What’s subsequent
- First up is OBJECT Rotterdam, the place I’ll launch “Mushy / Strong” a tantalising exploration of color and dynamic interaction of textiles and glass.
- I’ve a primary level of sale outdoors my very own on-line store and artwork gallery
Priveekollektie, for my Chromarama tapestries and Riso prints, within the
inspiring inside design store De Klare Lijn in Leiden. - In February I’ll begin the undertaking Blended Fibers in collaboration with Sonia Górecka, the place collectively we discover the way to design and visualise woven textiles in a 3D world.
- Within the coming yr, I may also choose up running a blog once more on a extra constant schedule. I can actually say that it is all the time price sharing ideas and inspiration with you within the hope that you’ll profit from them too.
- In March I’ll exhibit on the materials honest Materials District in Utrecht the place I may also give a lecture about my work.
- Later this yr I’ll launch a brand new physique of labor impressed by my travels by means of my beloved Japan. And I hope that my plans for a residency interval in Japan may also come to fruition.
- And naturally, I hope for nice commissions and collaborations with progressive manufacturers, inside designers and designers who share my love for color.
Right here’s to an exquisite and peaceable new yr! Thanks a lot for studying!