Wool Matters
Exploring the role of wool in the weaving of landscapes
2024
Collaboration partners
Fibershed NL, Leidse Deken Foundation, Annemarie Piscaer
Understanding the system
With the aim of connecting with local stakeholders working with wool and mapping the current local wool journey(s), the designer travelled across the country, to met farmers, processors, artists and craft organizations, listened to their prespectives and photographed their environments.
Drafting stories, Spinning voices
A book as a visual and tactile exploration of the Dutch wool landscape, where the collected prespectives were spun together, the narratives woven and the relations between the different actors made tangible.
As a communication tool and a call for reflection, the book illustrates that not all wool is associated with a problematic industry, not all wool in the Netherlands is being burned, and all the wool can have value when worked in the right context.
Post-humanistic Design, Regenerative thinking
Master's Thesis Project
Design School Kolding
As an earth gift*, wool has its own intentions and rights. It embodies ways of living that run through generations, bonded to a landscape and a community. Focusing on the Dutch context, the project explores local wool as a weaver of people, animals and land, searching for alternative values for wool that foster care and humbleness towards natural resources.
With a post-humanistic approach, wool is understood as more than a resource that only exists to serve human needs. Aware of human and non-human actors in wool’s ecosystem, the project engages with different actors in the local wool landscape.
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The 1.5 million kilos of wool produced by the sheep in the Netherlands are used to open dialogues around the challenges and possibilities for the re-establishment of local production/consumption networks, supported by grassroot initiatives that aim at putting local wool back in circulation.
“Currently, Dutch wool is left on the hands of local artists, craft organizations and small businesses committed to save it from waste.”
Top picture: When sheep graze the fiels, they gather seeds on their wool to later spread them around. This is translated in the book in a woven wool "page" that can be removed and planted. The wool wil fertilize the soil and native flowers will bloom.
Bottom picture: Last year, the Blue Tongue virus killed more than 8% of the sheep in the Netherlands, leaving fear for its return and affecting more than farmer's income. Carbon paper, that uncontrollably stains the paper is used to tell that story.
“Wool embodies ways of living that run through generations, bonded to a landscape and a community. Wool calls for humbleness and care, a gentle reminder on how entangled we are with the other life forms around us. “
Into the Workshop
Following project’s goal of inviting local citizens into the local wool system, the workshop “Working with wool” was organized in collaboration with the Leidse Deken Foundation. ​​​​Inspired by the co-production between humans and nature intrinsic to craft, the workshop aimed at inspiring the local community to actively take part in the exploration of alternative ways of making that bring us closer to each other and to the landscape around us.
Sorting the wool was ones of the main activities, as an important and overlooked step in wool’s journey(s). The direct contact with raw wool, made the participants notice the details, like the vegetable matter and the seeds trapped in it. This sensorial and non-verbal interaction, lead to the questioning of assumptions and encourage reflection.
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As an outcome of the workshop, a pure woolen blanket was co-design and co-produced in collaboration with Leidse Deken and local citizens.
This blanket represents a meeting place between all the actors of the landscape. It’s called “A blanket to the soil”, to symbolize the ideal last stage in wool’s life and address the issue of wool being buried illegally. If buried, the blanket would provide nutrients for the soil and be a gift of human work to nature.
Thank you to all the people who kindly accepted my invitation to be part of this project, without their collaboration, none of this wouldn’t have been possible - Annemarie Piscaer, Babette Leertouwer, Beatrice Waanders, Bertus and Sijke (Wolfederatie West), Betty Stikkers, Elise van Melis, Helga, Key and all volunteers at the Leidse Deken, Jan Willem (Schapenbedrijf De Waddel), Janne de Hoop (Hollands Wol Collectief), Maaike (MAIAMI Print Studio), Maaike Hoijtink (Deventer Schaapskudde Wol Project), Manuel Kurpershoinsek, Marianne Cornelissen, Marianne Gaspersz, Nel van Dick (Almeerse Wolunie), Nicole Spaans, Pieter Ploeg (Commonland Foundation), Peter van Dijk, Renske van den Tempel (Texelse Schapenwol), Stijntje Jaspers & Martine Nieuwenhuis (Fibershed NL) and Stefan Ernest Koper (Weved).
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*Fetcher, K. (2023). Multi-centered worlds. Design School Kolding.​​
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