ARTISANS in Dong Binh Village, Danang, 2012

Dong Binh Village, Da Nang 2012

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ARTISANS ARTISANS is a school project and at the same time, it is an adventure.

We journey through untrodden tracks in South East Asia seeking traditional village crafts so as to understand, learn and eventually, develop contemporary designs that promote our Asian heritage, aesthetics and lifestyle.

Through this, we hope to educate the values and beauty of craft making and at the same time, provide exposure of different cultures and way of life for our students.

ARTISANS endeavors to be a sustainable social design project. This project searches for the roots of traditional Asian crafts that is fast losing its popularity and documents our expedition and interaction in the village, with the people and their crafts. We hope to promote and sustain these crafts by applying them to newly developed products that are of relevance to today’s contemporary living.

Through this educational programme, ARTISANS offers students the opportunity to learn and acquire these skills to develop new and contemporary object typology within its local context.

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Contents 2 ARTISANS An Introduction

6 Dong Binh Village Da Nang, Vietnam

10 Planting; Harvesting Straw-weaving process

12 Arch Stool Natural curves

14 Cleaving

Straw-weaving process

16 Dyeing

Straw-weaving process

18 Scent Badge

An insect repelling fashion accessory

20 Drying

Straw-weaving process

22 Gradient Mat Colours of straws

24 Weaving

Straw-weaving process

26 New Ethnic Mat

New contemporary straw mat

28 Immersion Programme June 2nd - June 24th 2012

32 Rubber Straw Case Straw iPad case

34 Credits

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Dong Binh Village On the 2nd of June, 26 students led by 2 teaching staff embarked on a three-week adventure hosted by Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam.

Here, a journey of straw weaving craft begins. Every day during the expedition, students travelled on bus and foot to a remote village on an island off Da Nang, named, “Dong Binh�, to learn an age-old craft of straw weaving from the villagers. This quaint and peaceful village unadulterated from the burgeoning tourist industry in Da Nang, posses a beautiful and tranquil atmosphere. The villagers are very warm and friendly and treat tourist with a welcoming smile.

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With no prior background in weaving or textile making, the students took on the project brief that required them to design contemporary products that are relevant to the Vietnamese way of life and at the same communicating the tradition and heritage, using this 500-year-old traditional weaving technique. Through various observational exercises, hands-on weaving experiences and the daily visits to the village, the students developed many design ideas, of which 5 products are selected for further development for commerce and presentation in Maison&Objet 2013.

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Typical villager’s bedroom Villager’s religion; Buddhist statuesque, reflecting their religion A village boy, day-dreaming Vietnamese noodles; Pho, prepared by the Villagers Iced tea is the most favoured beverage during the summer A typical convenient store in the village Fresh seafood and fruits sold by the lake at the Village

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Planting; Harvesting

Planting starts during the March period. The straws will take about two to three months before it grows to the mature stage for harvesting.

Harvesting is a laborious process that happens between June-July every year.

Large acres of land are dedicated for straw harvesting at the village. The straws that are harvested provides enough stockpiles for the whole year of straw mat making.

The straws are bundled up into thick trunks for ease of transportation across the river by boats.

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Arch Stool

Arch stool is inspired by the way the Vietnamese typically roll and carry their mats. The form of the stool is created in similar fashion, bringing about the natural soft curves. A layer of cushion is added for extra comfort.

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Slotting the straw mat into frame Full view of Arch Stool

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Cleaving

In preparation for straw weaving, the villagers would thin the straws into half quickly and efficiently with a cleaving knife. The straws are made thinner as it would be easier for weaving at the later stages. It is then sun dried till golden brown.

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Dyeing

The sun-dried straws are tied in small bundles for preparation of the dyeing process. The villagers would first heat a big drum of water before adding spoonfuls of colored dye which comes typically in yellow, green, purple or red. The straws are dumped into the boiling pot of coloured dye.

The villagers would then stir the mixture of straws in the drum of dye for about 10 minutes before extracting them out for drying.

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Scent Badge

An ideal fashion accessory for the adventurer.

This decorative pin badge not only expresses the beauty of straw weaving, it also leverages on the scent diffusing properties of straw. Citronella is infused into the badge not just for olfactory pleasure but for its insect repelling properties as well.

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Dyeing of the Scent Badge frame Laser cutting the wooden frame for the Scent Badge

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Drying

The dyed straws would then be brought to the riverbank for another round of drying. Once dried, the straws would then be ready for weaving.

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Gradient Mat

Although a break from tradition, this stunning mat is dyed with newly developed dye mixtures reflecting all the natural colours of straws.

Inlaid with cushion and carefully aligned magnets, this mat not only serves its resting function, it can also be placed on the wall as a display of art. The magnets allow the mat to self-support itself when folded as well.

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Weaving of the Gradient Mat Colours of the Gradient Mat

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Weaving

The tools and materials needed for straw weaving are the loom; which consist of the reed, jute strings, a tension stick and the straws. The weaving process would require two people for efficiency. One person would be in charge of inserting the straw while the other person would sit on the loom to tightening the weave.

The first person would twirl the straw on the tip of the tension stick and put it through the loom in between the jute strings.

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After inserting the straw into the loom, the second person sitting on the loom would tighten the straw using the reed. The first person would be able to control the patterns created by selecting of the colour straws to be put through the loom.

Upon completion, a knife is used to trim the sides of the straw mat and excess jute strings will be cut away.

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New Ethnic Mat

The new ethnic mat marries contemporary aesthetics with the traditional Vietnamese weaving patterns. The colours from the mat exude the unique Southeast Asian identity bringing about the laidback village atmosphere to any contemporary interiors.

Just like the Gradient Mat, it is inlaid with cushion and magnets placed in measured alignment.

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Sealing and strengthening the edge of the mat with rubber paint Magnets holding the New Ethnic Mat in place when folded

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Immersion Programme 2nd June 2012 - 24th June 2012

During our June vacation break in 2012, together with two lecturers and twenty-five other students, we embarked on a journey to Da Nang; Vietnam; for three-weeks to learn the craft of straw weaving in a small village call Dong Binh.

Our three-weeks in Da Nang consist of learning, step by step, the process of straw mat making from harvesting to weaving and then moving on to develop designs based on our observations of the Vietnamese’s way of life, referencing their way of work, rest and play.

From the first day, we were divided into groups to ideate and develop straw-weaved products in the context of the modern living as well as for the international audience. Through the process of straw weaving, we also learned about the properties of the straw through explorations and interactions. Every morning we would head to the Dong Binh Village from the student hostel at Duy Tan University (DTU), Danang, to continue our project with the help of the villagers as well as the interpretors from DTU.

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Each day in Vietnam, we learned something new about the making of straw mats as well as the Vietnamese culture and their way of life. The villagers from Dong Binh village are friendly and patient with us while teaching and guiding us on the steps of straw weaving. The villagers would cooked scrumptious lunch for us everyday while we worked on our straw weaved designs.

We learned many valuable lessons from our experience in the village and in the city and also had fun during our stay in Da Nang where we learned about their history and culture of Vietnam.

PEARLYN SIM Artisans team member DXPD year 3 student, 2012

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Da Nang beach on a Sunday Vietnam’s traditional dish; Pho Vegetable seller taking afternoon nap Fresh crabs that are commonly found in markets Fisherman preparing his raft for fishing Fishermen fishing Women selling bananas by the roadside (Common scene in Da Nang)

Straw Case

The original intention of applying rubber paint onto weaved straw was to create an additional layer of protective shell. This experiment accidentally brought about a surprising outcome.

Rubber paint is used to enhance the texture and tactility of weaved straw.

With gradual use, this protective skin rubs away to reveal the traditional Vietnamese weave, juxtaposing the new with the old.

This combination of material, complemented with leather and selvedge denim, is used and made into a luxurious protective iPad case.

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Sewing of the Straw Case Straw Case with iPad

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DESIGN FACILITY is a space of discovery, offering the right setting to be explorative and inquisitive. Structured as a research laboratory, the facility seeks to uncover the hidden and latent conditions that characterises our experience of the everyday. It is a space that allows us to look beyond what is present, generating new approaches and methodologies within the field of experience design.

The facility is also a platform where projects of interest are incubated and brought towards an application relevant in the industry.

Design Facility is part of the Diploma in Experience and Product Design, Design School, Singapore Polytechnic.

InnoVillage, Singapore Polytechnic 500 Dover Road Singapore 139651 info@designfacility.sg http://www.designfacility.sg Supported by :

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Project Leads

Winston Chai

Course Manager Diploma of Experience And Product Design Head of Design Facility

Andrew Loh

Lecturer Diploma of Experience And Product Design

Designers

Han Li Li Hillary Yap Ee Xuan Huang Minxian Lim Ting Long Jingying Pearlyn Sim Hui Xin Peh Jia Wen Kang Sok Li, Jolyn

Special Thanks

Broadway Leather Co. Block 1 Kaki Bukit Ave 3 #09-02, KB-01, Singapore 416087 +65 68444293 www.aquilafashions.com Yew Huat & Co. Pte Ltd 10, Loyang Walk, Singapore 508793 Tel: (65) 6543 0630 Fax: (65) 6543 1707 www.yewhuat.com

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