Mae:I think with the work that I create, I think that you can see a lot of love has gone into it, but also well, a lot of techniques, crafts, and by that I think you take away the fastness. I'm not creating pieces that you will use and throw away. I hope blankets like these will go from generation to generation, and people will really cherish them, and give them new life, by maybe giving them to their daughter.
My name is Mae Engelgeer and I'm a Textile Designer.
I have a studio based in Amsterdam where we do different projects with textile as the main material. So we create blankets, carpets, fabrics, do different collaborations with brands from different countries, where we will be asked mostly for a signature in colouring, in composition, and the use of material.
What I try to achieve in my studio, is in a way, I try to create my own world here and for me, that's the world of textile. And I try to grow in doing different kind of projects with it.
I think my work is always about [some] combination of graphic sketch, or drawing, and the yarn and materials, the colour of it, then the composition of the technique, like is it woven, or what kind of technique. And then to find the right balance in that, that's the puzzle I need to make here at the studio.
I also work on feeling, so the first thing, my work is always a reflection of where I am, as a person maybe? But also in the things that influence me, or make me curious. And this can be a colour, sometimes I feel like... I don't know what it is, but [a] certain colour has my attention, and I don't know why, but I want to do something with it, or find the right combination. For example, I have it here, the fuchsia kind of pink was a colour I would never use but, but finding the right combination, it also changed the colour.
When I do a collection this, like the "Mono" collection, what is important is that you're actually next to the machines, so I'm mostly even putting the yarns on it myself, or changing the yarns
The TextielLab is a place where I can really play and develop, which is different than sending one of my files to a producer in another country, for example. I always call it [a] candy shop, or candy store because you will [get] totally lost if you don't have an idea, because the possibilities are endless, I would say.
So [you] really go there and you just see what’s going on, and you can follow your design and really work on the design at the spot. I think, what is sort of magical is you go there with an idea, and I come back with all fabrics, or all swatches like, a whole table full of new directions, new possible collections.
I always think in a collection, so I think I never design only one piece. I always have a small version next to it, or another colour combination. If one would be more colourful, then the other one would be more black and white. Of course it's always like, “when is it finished?” Or how that's just something that's also based on feeling. Now I think it's in balance and it feels like, just feels good.
It's quite difficult to think about how people will react when seeing your new work. So in a way I always hope that they will feel the same way I—or the feeling I had in mind creating it. Of course it's about creating, about giving your vision, and I think maybe I give my vision on how I see the world and what kind of colors fit in that time period at the moment, and the things that surround us. So there's no bigger goal I think. Bringing a bit of softness, and of course I want to celebrate textiles, that's, I think, also what I'm doing.