Since the completion of the TextielMuseum’s glass entrance hall in 2008, Studio Wieki Somers’ colourful garland has adorned the museum café. Two lanterns connected by the enormous garland float more than 15 metres up in the airy space. Studio Müller van Tol designed the hall’s interior and asked Wieki Somers to develop this eye-catching and festive object.
The brightly coloured pull-out garland is made from rosettes laser cut from kite fabric. The rosettes are embroidered together at strategic points. The larger parts of the garland were produced by an external company, but the smaller parts were developed in the TextielLab and cut on the lab’s laser machine. The very fine laser beam allows complex patterns, images and text to be engraved in the surface of even thin textiles. In addition, the machine can create shapes by cutting through the material. Synthetic materials melt during processing, sealing the cut edge closed, while natural materials burn, resulting in frayed edges.
