As part of Swire Properties’ Arts Month 2025 in Hong Kong, ArtisTree Selects: The Jewel System by Sara Shakeel welcomes visitors into a celestial installation merging AI-generated concepts with traditional South Asian embroidery. On this occasion, designboom partnered with ArtisTree to host a discussion with the multidisciplinary artist, as well as with digital art professional, Sylvia Wang. Moderated by designboom Editor-in-Chief, Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou, the panel, titled Embodying the Digital: Translating AI and Digital Art into Physical Forms, unpacks themes such as the role of AI in contemporary art, the human impulse to materialize digital ideas, and the emergence of phygital works, to ponder the future of these two realms.

artist Sara Shakeel inside her installation ArtisTree Selects: The Jewel System

all images courtesy of ArtisTree unless stated otherwise

Centering this conversation is the ArtisTree Selects: The Jewel System by Sara Shakeel, which reinterprets the solar system as an immersive, bejeweled map. Vast planetary forms — hand-embroidered by artisans using over 3.9 million vintage glass crystals — reflect Shakeel’s fascination with cosmic storytelling which she first began exploring as digital collages. Alongside this work, Genesis in Jewels captures the primordial moment of the Big Bang through layers of embroidered fabric and suspended crystals forming a celestial tapestry amid a sweeping black net. Read on for key takeaways from the conversation, and don’t miss the chance to experience the installation in person, on view at Two Taikoo Place in Hong Kong’s Quarry Bay until April 27, 2025.

the composition of vast planetary forms were hand-embroidered by 80 Pakistani artisans

bridging digital concepts and artisanal craftsmanship

Sara Shakeel, born in Pakistan and now based in London, is known for her cosmic concepts and has continued to build bridges between digital artistry and physical craftsmanship throughout her career. She begins the conversation with designboom by reflecting on how she has embraced digital tools as a collaborative hand to enhance her exploration of art in more diverse forms.

‘AI is just another tool for an artist — just like a sculptor’s chisel or a painter’s brush,’ Sara Shakeel says. ‘But, of course, AI has no soul, so it needs an artist’s touch to give it life, which I tried to do by creating The Jewel System.’

designboom Editor-in-Chief, Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou, moderated a panel, titled Embodying the Digital: Translating AI and Digital Art into Physical Forms

Shakeel explains that while her practice originates in the digital realm, her desire to create immersive, physical experiences drives her to translate these pieces into tactile art. This not only brings creations into ‘the real world’, but also gives life to her artwork so viewers can engage on a different physical and emotional level.

‘As human beings, we need to have that tactile sensation with something you can touch, feel, see, and experience,’ she continues.

Sara Shakeel and Sylvia Wang joined designboom under the accompanying Genesis in Jewels tapestry

Although the concept of The Jewel System was first imagined virtually, the starting point of its creation was a profoundly physical and spiritual journey rooted in Shakeel’s Pakistani heritage. The artist recounts roaming narrow bazaar alleys in Karachi where she was approached by a retailer selling bags and bags of vintage crystals, which were then used to craft the surface of the planets. The colorful jewels were applied using traditional techniques of metallic embroidery and crystal embellishment to construct intricate patterns reminiscent of those adorning royal textiles. This process, she explains, was a collaboration in every sense of the word, as she worked with a team of 80 local artisans and sought to channel each of their energies into the work.

Shakeel goes on to emphasize the role of intention in artistic creation: ‘There should always be an intention behind what you create. If it comes from a clear place, AI will help you create the most beautiful thing.’

the installation reinterprets the solar system as an immersive, bejeweled map

opportunities amid rising interest in phygital art

Expanding on the fusion of digital and physical creation, digital art professional Sylvia Wang highlights how the trend of phygital art has grown over the years to offer many new opportunities, as well as challenges, for the creative ecosystem. She points to the growing demand for art that extends beyond traditional galleries or digital platforms, as collectors increasingly seek more immersive experiences. Shakeel echoes this sentiment, noting that while her collectors appreciate her digital work, they are increasingly drawn to the tactile and experiential aspects of her installations. In response, she has been refining her practice to strike a balance between her digitally conceptualized pieces and their transformation into immersive, physical experiences.

the planet’s intricate patterns are reminiscent of those adorning royal textiles

Though, while the advent of these new technologies and their intersection with art allows collectors and audiences to experience works across multiple dimensions — tangible and intangible — its accessibility for creators has meant an influx in experimental artworks being created. Wang also acknowledges growing excitement among institutions for virtual art following the boom of NFTs, noting how Hong Kong’s M+ Museum has embraced the medium in its collections, showcasing works like Beeple’s Human One among other AI-assisted pieces.

‘As well as being hugely popular in other global institutes, it is still an increasing trend in Asia that people are so supportive of digital art and its presence in museums,’ Wang notes.

Sara Shakeel merges AI-generated concepts with traditional South Asian embroidery

the future of visual art and ai

Looking ahead, both panelists agree that creatives will continue to push the boundaries between digital and physical art, increasingly blurring the intersection between the two. With hope, Wang concludes that virtual spaces in the near future will afford artists more possibilities and potential to create in forms not confined to any dimension, medium, or scale.

‘Probably in many years, there won’t even be a definition about who is a digital artist, or who is a physical artist. It’s just about an artist who is telling a story, history, or memory. And AI or other technologies will be just tools for the artist to realize this,’ adds the digital art professional.

the colorful jewels were applied using traditional techniques of metallic embroidery and crystal embellishment

the Lunchtime Forum panel took place during Swire Properties’ Arts Month 2025

the talk unpacked the role of AI in contemporary art and the emergence of phygital works

digital art professional Sylvia Wang (left), artist Sara Shakeel (center) and designboom Editor-in-Chief Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou (right) formed the panel

visitors can see both installations at Two Taikoo Place

Genesis in Jewels captures the primordial moment of the Big Bang

the tapestry is shaped from over 3.9 million vintage glass crystals

layers of embroidered fabric and suspended crystals form a celestial tapestry amid a sweeping black net

project info:

name: ArtisTree Selects: The Jewel System

artist: Sara Shakeel

program: Swire Properties’ Arts Month

dates: 22 March – 27 April, 2025

location: Two Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong

The post sara shakeel on bridging AI & artisanal craftsmanship for celestial installation in hong kong appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The Scenic Route presents six new punch-needle embroidery works by Toronto-based textile artist Adrienna Matzeg. Inspired by summer road trips along the East Coast, the collection explores visual and sensory elements associated with travel. The works depict moments such as roadside stops, shifting horizons at dusk, and the glow of neon signs in compositions using vividly colored threads. Matzeg integrates photography and textile techniques to develop her punch-needle embroidery compositions.

At The Lookoff | all images courtesy of Adrienna Matzeg

Vivid colors and shapes compose Scenic Route embroidery series

Textile artist Adrienna Matzeg’s series examines the relationship between place and memory, reducing subjects to abstracted colors and shapes that evoke recollections of past travel experiences. The strong fiber art traditions of Eastern Canada’s Maritimes region also inform the connection between material and narrative in the works. Matzeg’s artistic practice spans analog and digital processes, including weaving, screen printing, and photographic techniques. The Scenic Route collection expands the artist’s exploration of textiles as a medium for storytelling.

punch-needle embroidery captures the essence of summer road trips | The Afterglow

Adrienna Matzeg’s textile work transforms travel memories into vivid compositions | Open

the series weaves travel memories into thread and texture | Lighthouse Route

embroidery captures fleeting travel moments in vibrant textile compositions | Catch of the Day

textile serves as a medium for preserving places and memories | Catch of the Day

neon signs and fading daylight are recreated through punch-needle embroidery | Lick-A-Treat

vividly colored threads reconstruct scenes from past road trips | The Scenic Route

project info:

name: The Scenic Route
artist: Adrienna Matzeg | @adriennamatzeg

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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Wading through hues of blue, patchwork tapestries, and suzani embroidery, the Uzbekistan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Art Biennale is a theatrical staging of collective voices and cultural memory. Artist Aziza Kadyri turns the pavilion, titled Don’t Miss the Cue, into a deconstructed backstage of a theater — a dimly lit room with hidden corners, lined with heaps of costumes, reconfigured hanging rails, and digital screens. Visitors wind through a sensorial yet obscure journey that culminates as they emerge onto an open stage illuminated by spotlights and activated by the gaze of resting ‘audience’ members — a nod to Kadyri’s background in theater.

Speaking with designboom, the artist reflects on how this concept is one that is both deeply personal and representative of the collective experiences of Central Asian women. ‘When representing a country,’ she shares, ‘it’s crucial to bring in a multiplicity of voices, especially those that are often underrepresented, like the younger generation of women who grew up after Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991.’ Kadyri then worked closely with the Qizlar Collective (Qizlar meaning ‘girls’), a group of female artists giving a stage to the narratives of these women, translating their postcolonial memories in search for identity, and their resilience, into poetic design installations. The works as such urge reflection and interaction, even inviting visitors to step inside the textiles and embody their weight. ‘The whole idea is to transmit a bodily sensation — a sense of corporeality. The audiovisual elements also attempt to represent these experiences of the community in a more indirect and emotional way,’ Kadyri adds. Read on for our full conversation.

all images courtesy of ACDF

a journey through a deconstructed theater backstage

Though part of the Uzbek diaspora herself, Aziza Kadyri further looks to her heritage to question what it means to be a creative working with traditional practices today. In collaboration with master embroiderer Madina Kasimbaeva who has been working with embroidery for 25 years, she reimagines artisanal forms with technology at the Uzbekistan Pavilion. AI, an increasingly prevalent tool within our contemporary creative fabric, is trained to reinterpret an archival body of suzani patterns which Kasimbaeva with her team materialized across the pavilion’s hanging curtains and embroideries — their forms oscillating between past, present, and future.

Notably, for both the artist and the artisan, technology is not at odds with tradition. While Kadyri likens Uzbek suzani works to historical documents and their associated processes as a record of female collectivity, AI becomes a modern tool to remember and reinterpret them for contemporary contexts. The integration of AI, which the artist refers to as a globalized ‘vessel for collective memory,’ modernizes the visual language of the patterns to strengthen their resonance with newer generations. ‘During our discussions, Madina mentioned that some patterns didn’t reflect her experience as a woman in the 21st century. Then conversations ensued that sparked a search for innovation — how it’s okay to break from tradition and create something that represents your current reality,’ the artist tells designboom. Read the full interview below.

the Uzbekistan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Art Biennale

aziza kadyri on collective memories at don’t miss the cue

designboom (DB): Your representation of your nation brings together a range of voices in the community, heritage, and traditions. Can you begin with introducing these collaborations?

Aziza Kadyri (AK): Initially, I was asked to do a solo, but a lot of my practice is collective. When representing a country, it’s crucial to bring in a multiplicity of voices, especially those that are often underrepresented — like the younger generation of women who grew up after Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991. So, I invited the Qizlar Collective, which I co-founded, to join me in this project. We focused on the experiences of young women within our community, especially how life has changed post-independence.

We also worked with a fantastic artisan embroiderer, Madina Kasimbaeva. This ties into another strand of my practice, where I explore the visual language of embroidery as a historical document, a way women recorded their hopes and dreams over the centuries. We wanted to modernize that tradition, to reimagine it using contemporary technology.

a theatrical staging of collective voices and cultural memory

DB: What inspired this spatial concept of an abstract experiential journey ending upon a stage?

AK: I came up with this idea of a deconstructed backstage of a theater, which draws from my experience of traveling through different countries by working in theaters. I’ve worked as a theater designer, scenographer, and costume designer for a long time, and I think those traces of storytelling persist in everything I do.

Backstage, to me, became a metaphor for this collection of disparate objects. When you go backstage, you find costumes from one play and props for another, all bunched together. They somehow tell a story, even if it doesn’t make immediate sense. That process of picking up pieces — of identity, of memories — feels similar to what I and many of the women we spoke to have experienced. In this way, my work is also very performance-focused, but it’s never direct. I feel that putting things poetically actually communicates more, and that’s something we tried to capture with the pavilion.

Don’t Miss the Cue welcomes visitors into a deconstructed backstage of a theater

DB: Do these ideas of migration and performance extend to the visitor experience too?

AK: I design experiences, and my theater background, along with my work in immersive experiences and technology, drives me to create specific emotional responses at certain moments. There’s a twist to the journey of walking through the works in the dark because you go through, then you’re suddenly on stage, with people staring at you. Here, I wanted people to feel a sense of discomfort, something they could either accept or reject. They could either step off the stage or become one of the ‘performers’.

wading through hues of blue, patchwork tapestries, and suzani embroidery

DB: How do the works on display speak to these themes of theater and interactivity?

AK: There are interactive stage costumes and metal structures along the journey, these hanging rails, that form and deconstruct shapes reminiscent of familiar spaces in Uzbekistan, like a street lamp with seating areas.

It was our attempt to translate the experiences we gathered from interviews with different women, finding similarities between their stories. These installations embody their memories. So, when you step into a costume, you might get a sense of how their bodies felt at certain moments in their lives. The whole idea is to transmit a bodily sensation — a sense of corporeality. The audiovisual elements also attempt to represent these experiences of the community in a more indirect, poetic, and emotional way.

the journey ends as visitors emerge onto an open stage illuminated by spotlights

DB: We also see a lot of traditional embroidery and motifs. In bringing together artisanal practices and new technologies such as AI, how do you relate the results to identity, heritage, and collective experiences?

AK: I worked closely with Madina Kasimbaeva and something she said really stuck with me. That suzani embroidery is one of the first, and most known practices reflective of women’s collectivity in Central Asia. Women always embroidered together, it was rarely an individual effort. Each piece they created became part of a collective expression. But then I also have this interest in AI as a vessel for collective memory but in a more globalized sense. Over the past 25 years, for instance, we’ve created so many images, and they now form a pool of knowledge that remembers for us.

I wanted to see how AI and traditional craft could interact. So, I trained an AI on my own archive of patterns, and instead of giving it words, I’d input a specific design, like one with a circular motif from Samarkand which represents an astral body. I’d let the AI interpret it back to me, and it would poetically transform the pattern into something new. I’d then show these outputs to Madina, asking if they resonated, and the women working in her studio were so intrigued by the idea of using traditional techniques to create something completely out of the box.

Aziza Kadyri looks to her heritage to question what it means to be a creative working with traditional practices today

During our discussions, Madina mentioned that some patterns didn’t really resonate with her anymore. They didn’t reflect her experience as a woman in the 21st century. Then conversations ensued that sparked a search for innovation — how it’s okay to break from tradition and create something that represents your current reality. It’s been a truly collaborative process between artist and artisan, and I’ve learned a tremendous amount from her.

the textiles by Madina Kasimbaeva materialize AI speculation

DB: The pavilion is deeply rooted in your identity, and reflective of those you worked with. How did you hope the concept, staging, and exhibited works would be received by visitors?

AK: Whenever I work on a project, I always formulate an ideal audience. For this pavilion, I envisioned younger people from diasporas or who have experienced migration – people a little like me. I wanted to connect with them on a deeper level.

While the experiences and stories we share from Uzbekistan are very specific, there’s something universal about them. Almost everyone has experienced migration in some form, even if it’s just moving to a new town. The emotions we convey are universal. Many people didn’t really understand it. But I also received so many messages from people telling me how moved they were by the pavilion.

the Uzbekistan Pavilion’s concept reflects the collective experiences of Central Asian women

DB: You have a very memorable and bold title: Don’t Miss the Cue. What does this mean?

AK: It’s from the phrase ‘Don’t miss your cue’, which is said to actors when they’re about to go on stage, and that obviously ties into the theatre form that we’re working with.

But there’s also a wordplay because we can talk about social cues, which directly ties into gender socialization and how women navigate social scripts to advance through the world.

I’m really proud of the title. It’s punchy, playful, imperative, and invokes this fun curiosity. And it really fits the journey we’re winding visitors through, ending with them under a spotlight on the stage. What’s interesting is how the stage has inspired spontaneous performances. Audiences have started clapping when others step out, and it’s also led to impromptu dances, poems, and other performances. The space is activated by the audience.

a dimly lit room with hidden corners, lined with heaps of costumes, reconfigured hanging rails, and digital screens

the costume installations invite visitors to step inside

Aziza Kadyri draws on her background in theater

the Uzbekistan Pavilion is shaped by collective voices and traditions

project info:

name: Don’t Miss the Cue

artist: Aziza Kadyri | @aziza.kadyri

collaborators: Qizlar Collective, Madina Kasimbaeva

location: Uzbekistan Pavilion, Arsenale, Venice

program: Venice Art Biennale 2024

The post ‘it’s okay to break from tradition’: inside aziza kadyri’s uzbekistan pavilion at venice biennale appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Alicja Kozlowska’s embroidered graffiti series, PAINTSUCKS, is an intriguing fusion of traditional craftsmanship and street art. In this unique form of artistic expression, embroidery, usually associated with delicate and decorative materials, is transferred to elements of the urban landscape.

Crafted from the art quilt technique, the fabric lettering sprawls across the walls of a grungy public toilet in a vibrant pink. By harnessing the features hidden in the medium that are impossible to achieve with ordinary paint, the artist experiments with the idea of tactile graffiti. The work’s three-dimensionality invites new perceptions of the two art forms, with playful patterns and textures alongside glistening beads injecting visual layers.

image by Maria Sadowska

Alicja Kozlowska sparks new perceptions of embroidery

PAINTSUCKS forms part of Alicja Kozlowska’s ongoing graffiti project, Banksy Who?, which, much like the rest of her work, seeks to popularize textile art and at the same time, transform the modern viewer’s appreciation of the needlework. The Poland-based artist fashions her graffiti from thick felt and various scraps from labels, newspapers, foils, and fabrics, covered with endless layers of embroidery.

Adopting this unexpected medium, Kozlowska unlocks an expression of creativity that pushes the boundaries of conventional thinking about street art and shows that even the oldest craft techniques can find new and surprising applications in the modern world. ‘Through my work, I want to show a different side of textiles. In my opinion, this field of art has great potential and can become a very contemporary artistic medium,’ she shares.

Alicja Kozlowska presents tactile graffiti series, PAINTSUCKS | image by Maria Sadowska

an intriguing fusion of traditional craftsmanship and street art | image by Alicja Kozlowska

embroidery, usually associated with delicacy, is fused with the urban landscape | image by Alicja Kozlowska

three-dimensionality and textures invites new perceptions of the two art forms | image by Alicja Kozlowska

part of the ongoing Banksy Who? project | image by Milena Jankowska

the artist seeks to popularize textile art | image by Alicja Kozlowska

unveiling new, surprising applications of traditional craft techniques | image by Alicja Kozlowska

image by Alicja Kozlowska

project info:

name: Banksy who? — PAINTSUCKS
artist: Alicja Kozlowska

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom

The post street art meets embroidery in PAINTSUCKS, alicja kozlowska’s tactile graffiti series appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Artist Francine LeClercq transforms images captured by surveillance cameras into intricate hand-embroidered artworks. In an era dominated by surveillance culture, the work challenges the conventional perceptions of surveillance by reimagining its visual language through the intricate art of hand embroidery. Each piece represents a nuanced translation of surveillance footage, bridging the realms of security technology and traditional handiwork. Through this artistic endeavor, the artist evokes themes of privacy, observation, and societal norms surrounding constant surveillance.

DC8, cross stitch embroidery, 24 x 48 inches | all images courtesy of Francine LeClercq

LECLERCQ contemplates privacy and constant observation

By employing the medium of embroidery, a symbol of human connection and intimacy, Francine Leclercq invites viewers to contemplate the dichotomy between the invasive nature of surveillance and the personal touch of artistic expression. Furthermore, her meticulous craftsmanship of 40,000 hand-embroidered cross stitches reflects a dedication to the passage of time through the labor-intensive process in contrast to the rapid capture of a movie image in 1/24 second, highlighting the dynamic interplay between sequential time and decisive moments.

Bike, cross stitch embroidery, 24 x 48 inches

Bike, cross stitch embroidery, detail

Bike, cross stitch embroidery, detail

Bike, cross stitch embroidery, detail

DC8, cross stitch embroidery, detail

DC8, cross stitch embroidery, detail

DC8, cross stitch embroidery, 24 x 48 inches

SIKKEMA, cross stitch embroidery, 24 x 48 inches

SIKKEMA, cross stitch embroidery, detail

SIKKEMA, cross stitch embroidery, detail

SIKKEMA, cross stitch embroidery, 24 x 48 inches

project info:

name: Embroidered Surveillance
artist: Francine LECLERCQ | @francine.leclercq.ny

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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Step into Andrew Iacobucci’s studio

Housed in a converted garage of a former auto repair shop, Italian artist Andrew Iacobucci opens the doors of his Rome studio, guiding readers into his creative space and artistic process. A descending ramp leads to an outdoor painting area, while the interior features a minimalistic kitchen block, a collected dove-colored sofa, and nearly invisible bookshelves. The intentional division of spaces with tubular structures supporting curtains creates a distinction between living and working areas, with high walls and neon lighting in the latter providing a focused environment. The artist places a strong emphasis on order and cleanliness within the studio to facilitate a conducive thinking process. Fabrics and thread spools are integral to his embroidered compositions, reflecting consideration for form and color. ‘Working primarily on the floor without the constraints of physical supports or easels, I can arrange my works freely on the ground and engage with them physically,’ Iacobucci explained. ‘This tactile experience creates a closer connection to the artwork, emphasizing its conceptual yet still grounded nature.’

all images by Andrew Iacobucci

Language-inspired Canvases

Andrew Iacobucci (see more here) describes his interest in language as a vast resource, comparing it to Pangea or an expansive Google, from which he draws abstract forms and discovers novel configurations. His recent collection, displayed in Hong Kong, features works embroidered with industrial machines, incorporating designs derived from creations of yet non-literate children. The vectorization of these drawings and their reproduction on vibrant canvases reflects a deliberate intent to explore mark-making before assigning specific meaning.‘My fascination lies in the exploration of language—its boundaries and possibilities. Rooted in my background as an architect, I’ve been trained to understand the significance of lines, the act of defining spaces, and the opening of surfaces,’ he described. ‘This inclination is reflected across various series and mediums,’ he added. 

exploring the boundaries of language

For Iacobucci, delving into the margins of language is akin to participating in the moment when language first develops, similar to understanding the foundation of a complex architectural site. He draws parallels with the work of a paleontologist studying fossils to comprehend evolutionary laws, connecting the creative process with scientific exploration.

Iacobucci’s studio is a space where abstract forms come to life

Iacobucci explores mark-making on vibrant canvases

detail of ‘and do not, whatever you do, eat the heart’

close-up of an embroidered canvas from Iacobucci’s collection

detail of ‘New Jerusalem from the Prayer Room’

summer homework 2022 90 x 85 cm embroidery on outdoor fabric

portrait of Andrew Iacobucci

project info:

name: notes on the studio
artist: Andrew Iacobucci

studio location: Rome

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In the world of sewing, embroidery, and crafting, Brother is always ‘At your side’ for business and personal crafters. The company’s motto accentuates its founding mission to expertly design affordable machines, its global demand for over a century, and its future where heritage is interwoven with innovation. Looking back at the world’s first electronic sewing machine with a projector embedded on it to a cutting machine with a scanner and now the empowering Artspira app, Brother continues to aid professional and home creatives worldwide.

(above) a UK Company Acquired by Brother Jones Sewing Machine Company (1897)

(banner) Brother’s first home sewing machine, 15 types and 70 models (1932)

all images courtesy of Brother

Inventor of the first electronic sewing machine and first machine with a projector, the family business began its journey in 1909 under the visionary leadership of the Yasui brothers, thus the name. As it continued to evolve, Brother’s commitment to ‘superior quality and diligent service’ remained unwavering. Its transformation from a small sewing machine workshop to a large-scale factory was driven by the vision of the founding brothers to turn the import-based industry into an export-based one, creating job opportunities worldwide. In 1928, the company introduced its first product, a sewing machine designed for making straw hats, which laid the foundation for the business known today.

chain-stitch sewing machine for the production of straw hats (Sho-san-shiki Sewing Machine) (1928)

the world’s first electronic sewing machine

In 1947, Brother took its first steps into the global arena by exporting 200 sewing machines to Shanghai, marking the beginning of their international journey. Throughout its history, the company has been at the forefront of the industry market, with milestones like the introduction of their first electronic machine, the Compal DX, in 1976.

hydraulic press for producing straw hats (1924)

The evolution continued with the introduction of personal sewing and embroidery systems in 1991 and embroidery software in 1996. Combining expertly designed machines with ever-improving software was a milestone that propelled the brand into the modern age, simplifying the crafts for a wider audience and enabling more intricate skill. In 2023, as a multinational corporation, Brother maintains its passion for technology, while taking pride for its forward-thinking sewing, embroidery and crafting machines suited to all skill levels.

home computer sewing machine Opus 8 (1979)

At your side 2023 pledge

Brother’s ‘At your side’ motto continues today, continuing to place its customers at the forefront. Following the COVID pandemic where sales boomed for home sewing machines, the market has healthily returned to pre-pandemic levels. The spike, though, has kept the company focused on diversifying by offering more customer value on top of their much-loved machines. This includes exploring step-up machines, innovative apps, design software, and machine connectivity – just like the cloud based digital design app, Artspira. These novelties continuously improve durability, servicing, technical support, and skilled capabilities to ensure Brother’s machines last a lifetime.

home knitting machine KH1-B3 (1955)

home knitting machine KH1-B3 (1955)

first sewing machine exported by Brother HA1-B3 (1947)

project info: 

name: Brother Industries Co., Ltd | @brothersewingcraft

The post brother’s century-long legacy in sewing & crafting machines appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Embroidered Ordinariness – Performances in Seoul, 2023 | all images courtesy Alicja Kozlowska

scattering realistic consumer good sculptures across stores

In this case, Alicja Kozlowska (see more here) scattered her realistic embroidered artworks across convenience stores and supermarkets in South Korea’s Seoul and Busan. Some nestle among bags of real candies, while others hide in plain sight next to rows of cans in vending machines or fridges. The difference is undetectable when sweeping a quick glance. According to the artist, this performative act of infiltrating her artwork into real-life spaces is integral to her artistic activity. ‘For my projects, I most often use the space of large-format stores. I do it in different parts of the world, this time South Korea. The main reason I make my performances is that I can observe the most honest reactions to my work from people that are usually not art lovers,’ notes Kozlowska. 

Seoul, 2023

observing how the audience responds to the ‘performance’ 

The audience’s reactions vary greatly, often depending on the culture of a given place, civilization, or cultural development. Koslowska noticed that she arouses the greatest interest among relatively young people and the older generation. The former are interested in the idea and meaning of the message, while the latter focuses more on the technique of performance and mapping details. ‘I think performance is a great fit with a fiber art, but it’s not very common, which makes it even more surprising and interesting. In my opinion, textiles are not that fragile and are meant to be experienced!‘ she concludes.

Busan, 2023

Busan 2023 – close up shot

Seoul, 2023

Seoul, 2023

project info:

name: Embroidered Ordinariness – Performances
artist: Alicja (Alice) Kozlowska | @alice.kozlow

location: South Korea – Seoul & Busan

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom

The post alicja kozlowska’s embroidered series of consumer goods lands in south korean stores appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Illustrator and animation director Martin Smatana creates a series of sewn compositions narrating some good news of 2022. The Prague-based artist picks one good news story from the newspaper every week and produces an artwork responding to it. Sustainable design methods of recycling and upcycling define the creative’s work since the embroidered art pieces are made out of old clothes and discarded textiles. The illustrated positive stories reinforce the belief that even in difficult times people can make good things happen even with the tiniest, most inconspicuous gestures making our world a better place.

an old man in Australia knitted woolen jumpers for penguins threatened by an oil leak to stop them from swallowing the toxic oil while cleaning themselves | all images courtesy of Martin Smatana

discarded fabrics compose positive illustrations and characters

Through his illustrated book ‘A Year of Good News’, the artist shows 52 illustrated good news stories which happened in the world during this difficult year of 2022. Ten of the positive and heart-warming stories are shared below. The hand-crafted illustrations narrate happy news stories through sewn fabric characters and small animal figures. The delicate artworks are made out of upcycled clothes and discarded textiles forming colorful scenes.

the director of a zoo in New South Wales, Australia, brought home several red pandas saving them from a blazing bush-fire

as flights from Italy were canceled due to the pandemic, a 10yo boy decided to walk with his father to visit his grandma in London. After 93 days and 2.800 kilometers, the boy could hug his grandma

a garbage collector in Bogotá, Colombia, has collected over 25,000 books people had thrown out and this year he opened a public library for poor children on the ground floor of his house

a father who wanted to spend Christmas with his daughter bought tickets for all six flights she worked as a flight attendant so they could be together on the 24th and 25th of December

when students in Bristol learned that their school’s caretaker hadn’t visited his relatives in his native Jamaica for four years, they collected money for his air ticket

when the 11-day war between Israel and Palestine ended, an Israeli kindergarten teacher donated a kidney to a three-year-old boy from the Gaza Strip

brazilian skydiver Luigi Cani released 100 million seeds from 28 native trees while leaping from a plane over a deforested area of the Amazon rainforest

a dog named Patron helped Ukrainian emergency services find 200 unexploded bombs. President Zelenskyy awarded Patron the Order of Courage

a hiker who was injured while climbing in Croatia’s mountains was saved from freezing to death by his dog who lay on top of him, keeping him warm for 13 hours until they were reached by rescuers

‘A Year of Good News’ shows 52 illustrated good news stories that happened during 2022

project info:

name: A Year of Good News
designer: Martin Smatana

US book distribution: unionsquareandco.com

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post colorful felt figures by martin smatana illustrate 10 good news of 2022 appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

For the past four years, Spanish architect Lluís Alexandre Casanovas Blanco worked closely with his mother, María Lluïsa Blanco Estébanez, to develop the intriguing ‘UMT’ chair. Sporting a minimalist black frame and a delicate lace-made backrest and seat, the chair is both a furniture piece and an historical investigation into the politics of traditional weaving techniques, particularly the use of bobbin lace in decoration.

‘The project looks at this technique as a way to acknowledge under-recognized domestic traditions edited out from modern architecture. It refers to the use of craftsmanship and DYI construction techniques in domestic spaces––a gendered form of labor usually overlooked in male-centered architectural narratives,’ explains the architect,’ explains Blanco.

That said, the architect replaced cotton yarn traditionally used in ancient bobbin lacemaking with high-resistance, state-of-the-art Dynemaa®. Advertized as the world’s strongest fiber, Dynemaa® is commonly found in military equipment and scientific expeditions, as its resistance adapts well to extreme environmental conditions. Incorporating such a high-strength material, the ‘UMT’ chair converts an historically decorative complement, the bobbin lace, into a key structural element that can carry the weight of a person’s body.

all images © Pol Rebaque

unknotting the history of bobbin lacemaking 

Blanco’s project starts from a series of material essays first tested in his ‘Real Estate Boom House’ work (2018), awarded both a Bauwelt Award and Simon Architecture Prize. This research looks into traditional craft techniques linked to agents other than heterosexual men. Despite their fundamental contribution to modern housing construction, women, queer individuals, and others, have been overlooked in both architectural production and its history.

‘The project, which uses the Spanish context as a case study, explores bobbin lace in tablecloths, rugs, curtains, and many other textile elements as key in configuring contemporary domestic interiors in Spain and elsewhere. In this country, this phenomenon remains inextricably linked to the backward steps in gender equality undertaken during the Francoist dictatorship (1939-1975). ‘UMT’ subverts the historical consideration of bobbin lace as ‘ornamental’ and ‘superfluous’ in architectural production by making the lace the main structure of an essential, male-associated element in design history: the chair,’ continues the architect.

In line with his histo-political investigation, Blanco chose the name ‘UMT’ to reference both an acronym for ‘Universal Military Training,’ and the Spanish phrase ‘Una Mirada Tranquila’ (A Quiet Look), nodding to a description of the fascist women’s magazine ‘Y: Revista para mujeres’, associating the production of bobbin lace to a state of relaxation and transcendence.

a black, minimalist frame overlayed with a delicate, lace-made seat and backrest

integrating the crafting process within the chair design 

María Lluïsa Blanco knitted the ‘UMT’ chair’s backrest and seat for over three years. As an elementary school teacher by profession, she was forced to learn bobbin lacemaking as part of the compulsory training for female teachers received in one of the Sección Femenina (Women Section) schools of the Spanish fascist party in 1963. The weaving follows a pattern combining the most characteristic types of bobbin lace stitches, including the ‘half moon,’ the ‘little fish,’ the ‘three-legged spider,’ and ‘Ulrike’s star,’ amongst others, with the final design becoming a sort of technical archive.

The resulting design incorporates a weaving cushion, 24-carat gold-plated needles, and wooden bobbins, all becoming part of the chair. The cushion takes its shape and proportions from the pillow of the classic LC4 ‘Chaise Longue’ by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand, whose involvement in making this classic modern piece of furniture has been historically overlooked.

To emphasize the lace-made backrest and seat, the structure was reduced to a minimalist expression, following a geometry resembling that of an arachnid’s body, a creature with which women who make bobbin lace are often associated.

a weaving cushion, 24 carat gold-plated needles, and wooden bobbins all become part of the chair

As a complement to the object, the ‘UMT’ chair also includes a curtain reproducing an illustration from the 1946 book series for little girls, ‘Marujita’. The illustration in the curtain comes from a story called ‘El Encaje de Bolillos’ (Bobbin lace), a perfect example of Francoist cursilería (cheesiness) that connects the virtuosity of bobbin lacemaking with spiderweb weaving. This simile links biology and gender through a discourse suggesting the direct relationship between instinct and domestic manual labor.  

‘Ultimately, in UMT, bobbin lace is not considered, as a neutral and depoliticized technique, but as a political activity whose celebration and study is fundamental to understand how we have built our houses during the last century,’ concludes Blanco. 

the weaving follows a pattern combining the most characteristic types of bobbin lace stitches

using state-of-the-art Dynemaa® fiber

the ‘UMT’ chair also includes a curtain reproducing an illustration from the 1946 ‘Marujita’ book series

María Lluïsa Blanco knitted the ‘UMT’ chair’s backrest and seat for over three years

the project explores the politics behind traditional weaving techniques

project info:

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