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Explore Artisans Museums & Galleries Experience Itineraries About
©Ella Hansmann
©Ella Hansmann
©Ella Hansmann
©Ella Hansmann
©Ella Hansmann

Iris Nijenhuis

  • Fabric sculptor
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Rising Star
Iris Nijenhuis Fabric sculptor
Contact
Dutch, English
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+31 620570723
©Ella Hansmann

Puzzling designs

  • • Textile experiments inspired Iris' designs
  • • Her pieces are crafted like puzzles, without glue or thread
  • • Innovative upcycling marked the start of her career

Iris Nijenhuis accidentally happened upon her own unique design path whilst experimenting with textiles at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. Her research on textiles and new structures, and her experiments with laser cutting led her to forming a puzzle with individual pieces to build a final creation. This is the basis for her design process. Iris removed the need for a sewing machine, stitching or glue. She entered the Te[ch]x(t)iles project, part of the Couture Graphique exhibition in 2013, with her first design – a unique dress consisting of 1400 leather puzzle pieces, saved and repurposed from an old Chesterfield chair. Her design was exhibited in several museums.

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Ella Hansmann
  • ©Ella Hansmann
  • ©Ella Hansmann
  • ©Ella Hansmann
  • ©Iris Nijenhuis
Photo: ©Ella Hansmann
Dressed lampshade

This cylinder-shaped off-white lampshade is dressed with a jacket of laser-cut puzzle pieces, which are put together by hand. The pieces are cut from a metallic-green artificial leather and are perforated in the middle to create a dotted light effect.

Length 35 cm
Width 35 cm
Height 24 cm

Photo: ©Ella Hansmann
The Gradient

The (combined) hexagon shaped wall panel has a colour gradient of white, blue, green, yellow, and brown tones. The laser-cut textile pieces are put together by hand like a puzzle and are placed onto a solid inside panel which can be hung in various ways.

Photo: ©Ella Hansmann
The Superb necklace series

This is a reversible necklace of laser-cut puzzle pieces, put together by hand like a puzzle, without the use of stitches or glue. It has a snap button closure.

Photo: ©Ella Hansmann
The Master Piece dress

This unique piece was created for the exhibition Te[ch]x(t)iles which was exhibited at MOTI. Iris dismantled an old Chesterfield armchair and laser cut the leather into small pieces and a few larger patterns. It contains about 1400 puzzle pieces.

Photo: ©Iris Nijenhuis
The Crossroad

The Crossroad wall panel consists of four colour lines that are running in a maze-like shape. The laser-cut textile pieces are put together by hand like a puzzle and are placed around an inside panel which can be hung in various ways.

Find Iris Nijenhuis in the itinerary

Amsterdam: creativity along the water canals
10 locations
As much as Amsterdam is acclaimed for its floating markets and art, it is also known for its canals and the houses that border them, where financiers, doctors and craftspeople resided in the past. Follow our itinerary to discover present-day artisans who continue to draw inspiration from the city’s waterways.
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