“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Thursday June 4th — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Thursday June 4th — —

I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Thursday June 4th — —

ODE TO A

We recently became familiar with a fascinating new brand named ODE TO A, which was started in London and currently is based in Amsterdam. The startup design label founded by designer Sabrina Kraus López and brand manager Noëlle Maxine Tierie, took form after the piloting project Made in Patacancha, where Sabrina travelled to Peru to learn from and work with the remote weaving community of Patacancha. With growing industrialisation, traditional crafts, particularly in rural communities, are at risk of disappearing, ODE TO A aims to collaborate with diverse artisan communities to create limited edition collections that will showcase practiced skills in sleek modern designs, creating a new aesthetic and value in traditional craft. We are particularly drawn to the incredible collection of six rugs which are released under the ODE TO A label. Commissioned by the the British Council in partnership with Anou, the collection is the result of over an one month period in which Sabrina Kraus López worked with six artisans from the Anou community to create the Common Thread, a highly appealing series of bespoke hand woven rugs.

We believe in the beauty of craftsmanship, of long practiced skills passed from generation to generation. / We believe in collaboration, in the power of design. / We believe that together we can reshape values.

The Amsterdam-based brand ODE TO A believes that cultural exchange, collaboration and design form the quest to safeguard traditional skills and craft. Therefore ODE TO A has at core reviving crafts by providing design tools to remote communities in order for local artisans to innovate and get a broader perspective on global trends and markets.

Through transparency in the entire production system from the conceptual phase to the end distribution we find it fascinating to give the opportunity to turn consumers into connoisseurs through detailing the provenance, reason and composition of each element of the product.

Sabrina Kraus López is a designer specializing in research and development for the textile industry. Following her fashion design BA in milan she recently graduated from an MA in Material Futures at Central Saint Martins school of art and design. This multidisciplinary course taught her research driven design that lead to observing and analysing social, political and economic trends to inform future, sustainable design applications. Fascinated by craft Sabrina has worked with a remote Peruvian weaving community for her final MA project before undertaking the Common Thread residency for the British Council, after which Noëlle Maxine Tierie and herself started ODE TO A.

The beautiful film portraying the artisans of Anou and their craft was created by Simon Mills.

For more information and to order online see here.