ALICE van Innis

My work reflects a search for beauty, a desire to design products with surprising combinations of color and form that reveal a novel joy of life, ultimately aiming to brighten everyday life.

The manual process takes center stage. Each drawing starts in pen and ink, and might come with a specific endpoint in mind, or not. Sometimes this process gives birth to ideas that are developed into a product. At other times, the drawings just remain drawings. Computers can be an aid to test techniques and purify ideas, yet the digital aspect is never the point of departure. Because my design process relies on drawings, my hand lets me directly channel the world inside my mind.

I do not limit myself to the confines of the world of textiles, and try to explore different terrains. My work has to be free to guide me to other materials and techniques. Art installations that become integral parts of buildings or theatre sets are just a few of the many options. Time and again, these raw materials and different crafts manage to draw my attention.

The game of lines, colors and shapes can feed into a surprising and fascinating world, with imagination and a sense of wonder at the source of this quest.

The wellbeing of both the producing and the consuming human being are key to me. This manifests itself in a fusion of sustainability and quality, in a search for a fair production cycle and ethical materials. Transparency and honesty guide my work, my production process, and my own life.