OPIA Art and Design Magazine

contemporary
stiTch
by Nathan Heller
Inge Jacobsen
contemporary artist
Traditionally, textile designers have been tucked
away in studios like busy worker bees, producing
library-loads of mostly anonymous designs,
for which recognition is rare.
But that’s not the case at the moment. There’s
a new crop of textile artists creating vibrant and distinctive
prints for homes. Their work is not going unnoticed–every
retailer from Ikea to Fortnum & Mason is currently piling
interiors sections high with print.
The new breed of designers are tech and marketing
savvy as well and, as a result, their work–and their names
are becoming known to a much wider audience.
Most of them run their own businesses, heavily driven
by social media. And the process of digital printing has
enabled them to produce small batches of experimental
work so that they can collaborate with young furniture
designers on reputation-making projects.
Textile and furniture production has come on a long
way and these designers are doing it for themselves I like
to work in my home. It’s the sort of work that traditionally
was done in the home and that is something I like. I usually
work with music or in silence. It is important to stay focused
and patient with embroidery. It is not something that is
created in a fast paced frenzy. Also, because I work on
paper it is too delicate for it to be rushed. I have done two
major commissions that I am very proud of. In 2011/2012
I worked with the Danish brand Georg Jensen and reenergised
their 2012 campaign. I created 4 relatively small
pieces for their display and 4 very large pieces for their
windows. It was non-stop cross-stitching for 3 months.
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