Textile craftsmanship and sustainability – students explore Furoshiki

In a collaboration with a focus on sustainability, craft processes and functions, 13 students from Friends of Handicraft exhibits at MUJI. In the store at Åhléns City, customers get the opportunity to see the students’ craftsmanship and the way in which they have experimented with different techniques and materials from a sustainability perspective.

With Furoshiki, we get to take part in a very old and sustainable way of carrying things or wrapping gifts. An alternative to wrapping paper and plastic bags. Furoshiki is an old traditional Japanese technique where you tie in gifts or what else you want to carry with you in a piece of fabric. The name can be traced back to the 13th century when your clothes were tied in the knot when you bathed, so as not to mix your clothes with someone else’s.

Furoshiki and Ikat with a new look

Furoshiki can also be seen as an art form. Through tying and choosing materials, colour, shape and technology, the giver communicates with the recipient in an exciting way. Advanced Textile handicraft students at Friends of Handicraft have in an investigative work combined the dye technology Ikat with producing and weaving a fabric for a Furoshiki. Ikat is an ancient pattern technique where the yarn and warp is dyed with batik technique before weaving. Through the dyeing of the yarn, patterns are created during the weaving. With the help of technology, the students have sought out and created their unique quality and their own expression. With their pieces of fabric and their wrapping, they tell their own story. The exhibition runs from 25 February to 6 March 2022 at MUJI Åhlens City.

Exhibitors: Yoko Akiyama, Carrie Cook, Evalis Fredriksson, Sara Haglund, Emilia Jung Sahlström, Kajsa Lindohf, Rebecka Lundborg, Rahwan Odlander, Malin Parkegren, Hanna Sköld, Åsa Portnoff Sundström, Line Rothman, Sophia Wallgren.