Thai designers show the true potential of embroidery craftsmanship, writes Gabriel Martin
The sun is sweltering as the temperature hits 36 degrees Celsius. Street hawkers call out endlessly as they compete for customers. This scenario of bargaining and haggling is common in Bangkok’s bustling streets.
Pick any nook or corner in Bangkok and you’ll find at least one stall selling local craft. Whether they’re sewn, carved or forged, these handmade goodies would have required unique skills to craft.
“The local people have potential. They possess rare talents and skills but unfortunately machines are taking over,” says Nichepak Torsutkanok.
The soft-spoken Nichepak and her boyfriend and business partner, Wanus Choketaweesak, who founded Ease Embroidery Design Studio, are among the winners of Maison&Objet (M&O) 2016 Rising Asian Talents Awards, alongside five other design maestros from Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Australia.
When met at the recent M&O Asia held in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, recently, Niche, as she prefers to be known, confides: “It’s important that we respect those things that were learnt and made in the past. These are the things that we want to promote once again as the foundation for our designs.”
EMBRACING EMBROIDERY
Her partner, Wanus, whose family has an embroidery business, grew up watching his parents toil on the family business for over 30 years. The embroidery factory operates daily as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for small fashion articles, caps and clothing.
In 2014, the architecture graduate started the embroidery factory together with Niche. Using authentic embroidery techniques, they focused on industrial embroidery, art and craftsmanship to create new experiences in embroidered products through their experimental designs.
Niche, who’s also an architecture alumna, confides that they intend to help their workers develop their skills and take it to the next level.
The former students of King Mongkul’s University of Technology Thonburi believe in recreating ordinary yet meaningful objects that reflect their life. “We observe, explore and seek things that surround us. Through our products, we integrate emotional values to show how much design can be a part of life,” shares the couple.
When the two design, they think about how each product is going to be presented. They also need to understand how the needle works. It’s a tedious process of understanding every stitch on point. Niche, who has a full-time job with a major fashion magazine in Thailand, shares that they’re constantly working on new ways and new techniques to create original patterns, textures and revolutionary effects.
Currently, the factory operates from two old shophouses located in a commercial and residential area along Spiraya Road in Bangrak — the first street in Bangkok. Here, 20-odd workers specialising in embroidery work on creating new design ideas.
Working with machines and by hand, each design brief has its own procedure. Both Niche and Wanus picked up some embroidery skills to provide them with a better understanding of this craft.
MAN VS MACHINE
“Technology is dangerous,” Niche says, her answer terse when asked about the difference in quality between handmade and machine-embroidered products. She opines that technology ruins the sense of “time” as reflected in hand embroidery.
She adds: “You need to look into how amazing the human hand is. To be able to do the same stitch by hand every day. The process takes you on a beautiful journey of hand embroidery. You need to respect this skill.”
However, it’s not that Niche is dismissing technology wholly. But she believes that the craft needs to be preserved to ensure that handiworks like embroidery remain authentic and unique. “I don’t agree that machine should take over entirely the work of our hands. Machine doesn’t have an emotional touch,” says Niche, shaking her head gently.
EYE OPENERS
At this point during our brief conversation, my eyes are drawn to the six-pointed stars hanging independently from the Ease Embroidery Design Studio booth in M&O. “That’s a project called Faii or simply means cotton. It’s the first product that represented our goal in developing a new design language for embroidery works,” shares Niche.
Captivated by the shape that resembles a familiar perennial culinary spice, I was confident that the design was inspired by the star anise.
“What is that?” Niche chuckles, when I tell her this. She proceeds to share that the pattern was actually inspired by a local cotton spinner while the design is inspired by the cloths or cotton fabrics which are typically hung above the doors of traditional houses. The cloths act as screens to provide visual connection in the transition of spaces.
A total of nine different articulations in similar shapes make up the entire Faii ensemble. Various levels of transparency in several neutral shades are created using embroideries on hand-woven cotton and polyester fabric. This provides support to the individual pieces while still exuding a sense of softness.
Faii allows people to be creative. Its modular connection makes it easy for the product to be reassembled and easily transported for setups, cleaning or maintenance purposes. This 3D embroidery technique, according to the duo, completely changes the perspective of traditional embroidery. The technique emphasises the effects of dimensions and strength from the condensed threads, creating infinite possibilities with a simple traditional technique.
STITCHING ACOUSTICS
Functional construction materials that meet contemporary expectations are also created using similar embroidery techniques. The duo is constantly inspired to empower people to use their creativity to design a piece of art that’s unique to their roots. “The locals have the tools and we encourage them to have some fun and let their imagination run wild sometimes,” they share.
The creation of Tex-Tile supports this sentiment. Tex-Tile is made of polyester fabric combined with three dimensional embroidery structures to create an acoustic ability to the structure of each piece.
The design is geometrical and modular at the same time. It allows users to put them together like a puzzle or arrange the pieces freely to create an extraordinary effect. Staying true to what they’re most familiar with, all materials used is sourced locally. The neutral tones represent who they are and what they’re familiar with.
“These threads don’t have their own character but we can create a character that we have in mind using them,” says Niche. Tex-Tile also captured the Design Excellence Award in 2015 for the imaginative concept behind a simple craft but one that’s been pushed to the next level.
It’s a reflection of how local wisdom can be developed beautifully to suit modern-day functionalities.
IMPORTANT FOUNDATION
The Thais are taught from young the importance of humility and to always display a high level of appreciation for what their forefathers have created in the past, shares Niche. However, these days, more youths are abandoning their family business and refusing to continue the legacy.
“We’re in a family that does business. My parents make soy sauce and Wanus’ family does a roaring business in embroidery. We’ve seen how they’ve toiled since we were young. We know success comes with hard work and the whole experience of working diligently towards success will give us the ultimate fulfillment,” says Niche.
The family, believes Niche, is the most important and essential support system one can have. “They are the first to ignite your interest, build your passion and nurture you into becoming who you’re today.”
The duo believes that what was made in the past moulds the foundation of design today. Like any handicraft, the Asian sensibility lies in the technique and artisanal qualities of the products. “The craft is the foundation of our heritage, identity and culture,” Niche iterates. It makes every design that’s uniquely Asian to possess the potential to go global.
Appreciation for design needs to also be cultivated, believes Niche.
Government initiatives like TalentThai in Thailand has helped many design talents, including Ease Embroidery Design Studio, to take the leap to go global and to participate in international showcases like M&O. It’s time for Asian designers, concludes Niche, to showcase Asian sensibilities, to the world.