10 years of impact

We can hardly believe it ourselves, Fair Fabrics turned 10 today!

The first visit to a weaving cooperative in the Moroccan Atlas mountains has been the great start of realizing our dreams; growing together in entrepreneurship by stimulating the local economy in our production countries in a fair way.

This image of Khadouj was taken during the first visit to the Moroccan Atlas Mountains (2011).

It didn’t all go smoothly, but that’s not what we do it for either. The most important thing is that we make as much impact as possible. We want to build a lasting bond with the makers. For example, we develop new interior products, the studios produce at a fair price and we help the makers in the field of entrepreneurship and professionalization.

Designer Willemiek is weaving together with ‘mama’ and in the meantime also shows her own ideas on the loom (2018).

Language and cultural differences make international business extra adventurous. That sometimes means that you don’t necessarily solve complicated dilemmas in the most businesslike way, but that’s why we are a social enterprise; profit is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve our mission.

While we visit the various cooperatives, we are often welcomed with open arms at home by the weavers, which takes us to the most remote but very special places (2014).

And yes, we also have many ups and downs. We will spare you, much rather we look to the future where there is still a lot of fair profit to be made. In the coming period we will try to be an even greater stable factor for many of our workshops, which do not have an easy time under the circumstances of Covid-19, among others. Many studios have hardly any income with the loss of tourism, so our mission is perhaps even more current than 10 years ago.

This seems like a route to the end of the world, but this is the kilometre-long road to one of our fine cooperatives in the deep mountains (2014).

There are many beautiful projects in the pipeline and actually do not even have the time to dwell on this beautiful milestone.

We would like to celebrate our anniversary together, which is why we have come up with various beautiful and appropriate promotions during our anniversary year. November 1st we will start with the very first anniversary promotion of 10 years of Fair Fabrics. More coming soon!

Most weavers’ living rooms are often at least as colorful as the rugs they weave (2013).

Moncef and Karin in Tunis after a conversation with Tunisian designer Chamseddine (2016).

The very first professional photo shoot with photographer Geert (2014).

A couscous meal together with the family of the ‘president’ of the cooperative (2015)

Geert in action photographing a rug for a customer order (2021).

Founder of Fair Fabrics, Karin. Photographer: Kate Lewis for TBE (2018).

10 years, 100 years

Fair Fabrics will soon be 10 years old, really! We are extremely proud to have reached this milestone. Despite all the recent challenges surrounding Covid-19, but also at a time when we are short of hands to actually be able to celebrate properly. Of course we have some fun moments planned, so more stories and more festivities are coming soon!

Morocco, October 2011. This photo was taken 10 years ago, during the very first artisan workshop visit.

What many probably do not know is that we have drawn up our philosophy based on a number of core values ​​that arise from the volunteer work that Karin has performed for the Melania (Ontwikkelingssamenwerking) Development Cooperation Foundation for a few years. This foundation is committed to gender equality and to improving the economic position of (underprivileged) women in Asia, Africa and Latin America, so that they can build an independent existence. Melania does this by financing small-scale income-generating projects, from a transparent and effective organization with committed and expert employees. Here in the Netherlands they are building a community of socially involved women who donate money to realize the projects.

Nepal 2006. Women of Melania’s sewing machine project proudly show Karin how their business got off to a successful start thanks to Melania’s project financing.

Working with existing initiatives and cooperatives, making the connection between the different worlds, immersing yourself in the different culture with sometimes complex circumstances, but also the drive of women’s groups within a local community have been well-considered choices for Karin to set up her social enterprise Fair Fabrics as it is now.

The portrait of Melania founder Caroline Theresia Maria van Rijckevorsel, a nurse, who traveled with her husband to the Dutch East Indies in 1921 at the age of 25 to dedicate herself to the ‘upliftment of the native woman’, has been recorded in a jubilee book. On October 10, the 100th anniversary of Melania will be celebrated in Utrecht with workshops and lectures. A total of ten women’s portraits are included in the book, of which 1 is about Karin from Fair Fabrics. What an honor!!

The booklet was written and compiled by Ceciel Bruin-Mosch, Caro van den Acker, Eliane Bavinck and Tanja Beekman. The booklet can be ordered from the better bookshops, ISBN: 9789403639468.

Melania also organizes an (online) auction where the proceeds fully accrue to Melania. Various social entrepreneurs have donated products, such as Yoni with a set of organic sanitary towels, Karen Kammeraat with her book ‘Just Good’ and of course Fair Fabrics with a hand-woven cushion set. Link to auction: https://melania.nl/15824-2/

Nepal, August 2006. Karin was not only warmly and hospitably received, but also fully dressed by the ladies of Melania’s sewing machine project. The women had to get used to those extra long meters of fabric.

Handwoven wool rug

This Saturday, our latest rug will appear in the NRC’s living special. Fair Fabrics developed this rug on behalf of the NRC and had it made in a numbered edition. The rugs are traditionally woven by a coalition of 5 smaller weaving workshops, located in the Tunisian mountains. The design was created by the Dutch designer Willemiek van Kuijlenborg in collaboration with the artisan workshops.

The rug is available in the sizes ‘medium’ and ‘large’. Photo: Geert van Hertum

Rugs are the mood makers in the house and offer a lot of extra comfort. They improve the acoustics, personalize the interior and insulate in both winter and summer. The unique properties of wool ensure that it adapts to different conditions. Wool has the ability to provide wonderful warmth when it is cold and cool when it is hot, while still breathing. Rugs are very nice for the layout of the living space. You can break a large room with it, while a small room with a rug gets depth and thus appears larger.

Photo: Geert van Hertum

The weavers’ years of experience ensure tight weaving, creating a high-quality rug for years of enjoyment. All rugs are exclusive, in a numbered edition, available at the NRC webshop and provided with a label with the name of the maker.

Photo: Anis Gueddich

Tunisia has gone through a turbulent time with, among other things, the highest Covid-19 infection rates of the entire African continent, but they are also currently in the middle of political unrest. The income of many artisans has completely disappeared. With this special collaboration between NRC webshop and Fair Fabrics, the 5 small weaving cooperatives in Tunisia were each provided with work for 3 months at a fair price. All cooperatives from the coalition are now working together on the growth and professionalization of their trade workshops.

Photo: Geert van Hertum

Handmade products sometimes have a small flaw, the charm of authentic products, which also makes them easy to distinguish from perfectly made, often cheaper copies. Each rug is unique, because although the working drawings are standard, we work with natural products and not with machines. Colors, patterns and dimensions may therefore differ very slightly. A maintenance card is supplied with the rug.

Photo: Geert van Hertum

Size: 140 x 200 cm
Material: wool (90%) on cotton
Price: € 649.00

Size: 170 x 240 cm
Material: wool (90%) on cotton
Price: € 849.00

Photo: Geert van Hertum

Increase in scale and social impact

If an average rug takes about 3 weeks to weave, you can imagine that the production of a few dozen rugs will take some time. If you want to make more impact, scaling up can help. How to handle? And how do you maintain personal contact and direct involvement with the artisans?

We have the express wish to work as much as possible with small workshops, because that is where we can make the most impact. The families, and sometimes also the immediate environment, all benefit from the income of the weaving workshops where mainly women work. In addition to their work in the craft workshops, they keep the family going. Most workshops are not located in the big tourist cities but in rural mountain areas that are sometimes difficult to reach due to bad roads and extreme weather conditions.

Photocredits: Moncef Ben Rejeb

In order to meet the demands of our customers and to maintain our core values, we recently started local collaborations between several trade workshops. That means jointly purchasing wool and distributing it over the various workshops and thus achieving a larger production together.

Photocredits: Moncef Ben Rejeb

All workshops work in their own way and that is why intensive consultation and coordination are now taking place between the workshops. Just as special as we think it is that we go through the production process together with all 5 workshops, it offers the cooperatives so many opportunities to grow, learn from each other and further professionalize.

Photocredits: Jenae Somedays for TBE, all rights reserved

Fair Fabrics rug and cushion set exclusively at NRC

Commissioned by our client NRC, we designed a rug and cushion set and had it made in two specialist workshops in respectively Tunisia and Morocco. Both products are made in a small, numbered edition and are exclusively for sale in the NRC webwinkel from Saturday 29 May.

Would you also like to have an article made by Fair Fabrics? Check out our “corporate” page or click here.

     

The rugs are handcrafted by the members of a women’s cooperative in a small mountain village in northern Tunisia. The weavers’ many years of experience ensures tight weaving, creating a rug of high quality. All affiliated women are now working together on the growth and professionalization of their studio. All rugs are provided with a label with the name of the maker.

Rugs create the atmosphere in the house and offer a lot of extra comfort. They improve the acoustics, make the interior personal and insulate in both summer and winter. This specific pattern has already been used for another rug. Especially for the NRC, Fair Fabrics had the rug made in a different color composition in a handy format, so that it fits in several places in the house.

Photo: Geert van Hertum – Location: Gallery Untitled, Rotterdam

The combination of old techniques with this contemporary pattern gives your interior a pleasant atmosphere and is a real eye-catcher. Rugs are very nice for the layout of your living space. You can break a large space with it, while a small space with a rug gets depth and thus appears larger.

The cushions are handmade by a weaving cooperative in Central Morocco. The cooperative supports homeless and problem youth from the immediate vicinity through its own studio. By learning a trade, they offer these people a new perspective for the future. The weavers have years of weaving experience and only use high-quality materials. All cushion covers are labeled with the maker’s name and uniquely numbered.

With new cushions you can personalize your interior in a stylish way with a small gesture. The designer has made a combination of traditional technology and local craftsmanship, in a contemporary design. The cushions each have their own design and together form a tasteful whole. They are lined on the inside and have a double zipper at the back.

Both articles were developed in collaboration with the Dutch designer Willemiek van Kuijlenborg.

Photo: Geert van Hertum – Location: Gallery Untitled, Rotterdam – Chair: Floris Hovers

Link to the rugs, link to the cushions

We took some of the above photos in Gallery Untitled in Rotterdam.

The white chair in the photos is by the Dutch designer Floris Hovers, from the SOO furniture collection.

For the packaging we have used recycled tubes from SCRAP XL.

Our logistics processes are carried out by Onze Zaak, a sheltered workplace that helps people with intellectual disabilities and people at a distance from the labor market find daily work. https://www.onze-zaak.org

Would you also like to have an article made by Fair Fabrics? Check out our “corporate” page or click here.

Photo: Geert van Hertum – Location: Gallery Untitled, Rotterdam – Chair: Floris Hovers

Photo: Geert van Hertum

Photo: Geert van Hertum – Location: Gallery Untitled, Rotterdam

Our year of impact

Photo: Creative Tunisia

Needless to say that 2020 was a special year. Looking back, we can conclude that the world was not easy and it should come as no surprise that it was not a happy year for Fair Fabrics. Despite the interior industry and Fair Fabrics doing relatively well in this crazy year, our biggest concerns were mainly behind the scenes. At our producers in the various countries there were complete lockdowns, which meant that all workshops had to be closed. Because in addition to all international customers, all income from the local, often tourist market, also disappeared.

“It is precisely under these circumstances that our impact is greatest and therefore extra important.”

Fair Fabrics was forced to take a break in the spring, because there was no production, but also no transport. As soon as was possible again, we put our shoulders to the wheel by 200% and made every effort to restart the chain carefully. We are impressed by the resilience of our workshops in the different countries and thank our patient customers too!

We prefer to focus on the positive and inspiring examples around us, where we would like to tell about Naima’s weaving workshop at the end of this year.

Wool rug NRC artisan and Karin Tunisia

Niama and Karin Kandt from Fair Fabrics Photo: Moncef Ben Rajeb

A few years ago, we first met Naima, at a craft fair in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis. There she distinguished herself with her patterns and use of color from many other professional workshops. Her distinct combinations and different designs prompted us to get to know her further and to hear more about her working method and her personal life.

Naima comes from northwestern Tunisia, where she has worked as a rug weaver for more than 20 years, together with a group of 25 women. The region distinguishes itself with its rugs primarily because of their double-sided technique, so all rugs can be used on both sides. In her own designs she searches for symmetry between shape, pattern and color and combines tradition with modernity. It is not necessarily about perfection, but designs that belong today, so that it appeals to as many people as possible.

Naima and her daughter Chayma

She learned the craft from her mother as a child. Once married and became a mother, she stopped making kilims to spend more time with the family. When the children had grown up, there was more time to pick up her profession and make it their own again. Her daughter Chayma is now also intensively connected to the weaving workshop, which is currently located in 2 different locations in the north-west Tunisia region. Together they work on improving the productions and on new designs.

After the recent growth and some prestigious design awards from last year, she has also been able to successfully apply for a support program. With this Naima has investment money available to continue growing and to develop new products, such as blankets and bedspreads. She also wants to use this money to purchase new materials and recently presented herself to potential new customers at a fair.

Daughter Chayma wins a prestigious design award

With the new possibilities she can also connect new professionals to her studio. In addition, it is an extra stimulus to familiarize a new generation with weaving art and technology. In this way, the craft is not lost with the current generation.

Photo: Creative Tunisia

In recent years, we have worked with Naima on various successful projects on behalf of and together with a number of Dutch customers. We are all happy with the cooperation and in this way help each other to grow in entrepreneurship.

“In 2020 Fair Fabrics was responsible for more than 6 months of work for the weaving workshop of Naima and her daughter.”

Photo: Creative Tunisia

 

 

Artisan sourcing

We would like to share a successful collaboration project between a Dutch designer and a weaving cooperative in Morocco. A special project resulting in a distinctive and innovative tapestry, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.

“Fair Fabrics knows how to find a network of reliable professionals who can meet the need. We have access to products and producers from all over the world on behalf of and together with designers, brands and retailers. ”

The product development that has been completed can be divided into a number of phases. Think of an exploration phase of the material, a sketch phase, the introduction and design phase with the weaving professionals, and then the realization into a first sample.

Designing a new product on the spot is the most exciting but also the most fun! For the tapestry we (Fair Fabrics and the Dutch designer Willemiek van Kuijlenborg) traveled to one of our partner weaving cooperatives in the middle of the Atlas mountains of Morocco.

Design process

Together we discuss with the weavers what the wishes are and the (im) possibilities. We compare our ideas and continue sketching together. There is room to react to the collected images of the designer; what does this evoke, for example, among Moroccan weavers? They can sketch and draw over it and Willemiek can respond to that. This way you get close to a new plan step by step where all insights come together nicely.

Fatima – photo credits Jenae Somedays for TBE

The designer and the weaver go together behind the weaving frame, how can the first idea be technically implemented? That is a process that is sometimes gone through with hands and feet, because many weavers only speak the Berber language.

“You can also communicate through the loom and laugh together without having a common language.”

Willemiek behind the loom – photo credits TBE

After a number of small experiments, the artisan weaver can make a first sample. After that, there is room to polish a bit more here and there, but there were also unexpected surprises that were given a greater role in the final tapestry.

The result of connecting designer and maker is a completely handmade and unique tapestry in which the traditional values ​​of the local weavers are clearly respected, and also mix with contemporary insights from a Dutch designer.

Artisan weavers Fatima & Khadija

Tapestry data

Size: 180 high x 120 wide (excluding warp threads)
Material: Wool and cotton
Weight: 6.5 kg
Designers: Willemiek van Kuijlenborg, Fatima Falfouli, Khadija El Hakkaoui & Karin Kandt
Weavers: Fatima Falfouli & Khadija El Hakkaoui
Country: Morocco
Price on request: info@fairfabrics.nl

Photo credits Geert van Hertum

The tapestry during OBJECT/ART Rotterdam 2020

Fair Fabrics tapijt op maat

A letter to the weaver

Last summer, Fair Fabrics designed a new rug on commission and had it made in a limited edition, together with our artisan weavers in Tunisia. In a previous news item we told extensively about this weaver Sihem and her cooperative. And also why we are so happy to be able to work together – especially in these particularly challenging circumstances.

Recently, a customer asked us to have the rug made in a different color palette and in a larger size, so that it would fit exactly into the existing interior. Our designer then made a color proposal and adjusted the design, because a different size also changes the ratio and pattern execution.

Design by Fair Fabrics – Willemiek van Kuijleborg

While the customer was patiently waiting for the rug to be ready, we received an interim update from the mountains of Tunisia; a nice film of the rug in the making!

 

The rug is now ready and has arrived in the Netherlands. And delivered to a satisfied customer, as this photo shows. And now another handwritten note is sent from the customer in the Netherlands to Sihem in Tunisia. It can be that beautiful.

>> On our website you can find more information about ordering a custom rug. Please contact us if you have any questions: info@fairfabrics.nl

Fair Fabrics handgeweven wollen vloerkleed NRC

Wool rug NRC

Especially for the readers of NRC, Fair Fabrics, in collaboration with one of its Tunisian workshops and designer Willemiek van Kuijlenborg, developed a wool rug made in a numbered edition.

>>The rug is sold out at the NRC web store. Please contact us if you still want to order this rug and specify the desired size: info@fairfabrics.nl

Rugs create great atmosphere in your home and offer a lot of extra comfort. They improve the acoustics, make the interior personal and insulate in both winter and summer. The combination of old techniques with this contemporary pattern gives your interior a pleasant atmosphere and is a real eye-catcher. Rugs are very nice for the layout of your living space. You can break a large space with it, while a small space with a rug gets depth.

Wool rug NRC handwoven Tunisia Fair Fabrics

Photo: Geert van Hertum

The rugs are handcrafted by the members of a women’s cooperative in a small mountain village in northern Tunisia. The many years of experience of the weavers ensure tight weaving, creating a high-quality rug that you will enjoy for years to come. All affiliated women are now working together on the growth and professionalization of their studio. All rugs are provided with a label with the name of the maker.

wool rug NRC handwoven Tunisia Fair Fabrics

Photo: Moncef Ben Rajeb

Naima runs a workshop in the north-east of Tunisia. She has been working as a weaver for over 20 years, currently she does so together with about 25 other women from the same mountain village.

The rugs are made differently in each area in the country, the Naima region distinguishes itself with the double-sided carpets. They are made in a special way so that the carpets can be used on both sides.

Naima learned weaving and the technique from her mother as a child. When she got married and had children, she stopped weaving in order to spend enough time with her family. When the children were grown she had time to pick up her passion again. It makes her happy and she really wouldn’t know what to do without it.

“Life is short, a craft takes a lot of time to learn.” 

It took Naima 5 or 6 years to gain confidence in her own craftsmanship. Handmade work is really difficult unlike the machines that you can master quite quickly.

Wool rug NRC artisan and Karin Tunisia

Photo: Moncef Ben Rajeb

Naima is keen to convey to the young generations that they must continue to develop their craft skills, as this is the only way to preserve the cultural heritage.

“My advice to young designers is that they should open up to other cultures and other countries.”

In this way, the younger generations from Tunisia can increase their knowledge of foreign designs so that they can better position themselves and stay on the right path.

Naima likes to recall an old Tunisian saying: 

“All tangible inherited things will disappear, but the inherited knowledge can never be buried.”

Fair Fabrics wool rug NRC handwoven Tunisia

Photo: Geert van Hertum

Fair Fabrics - NRC handgeweven zomer vloerkleed 2020

Hand-woven rug

A stylish and summer hand-woven rug. Exclusively for the NRC webwinkel, Fair Fabrics, in collaboration with one of its Tunisian artisan workshops and the Dutch designer Willemiek van Kuijlenborg, had a wool rug made and produced in a limited edition.

Photocredits: Geert van Hertum

Just as for many other entrepreneurs, the past period has not been easy. The workshops in Morocco and Tunisia were closed, the artisans had no income, the future was – and still is – very uncertain and the transports to the Netherlands are only finally (but laboriously) underway. Fortunately, this project has now come to a good point: the small cooperative in Tunisia does not have a communal workshop, but this meant that they were all able to work at home and earn an income in the past months. This makes logistics more complicated, but this was also their survival mechanism!

The small artisan workshop in the North of Tunisia is being runned by Sihem. She learned the art of rug weaving from her mother. She has passed on the skill to her two daughters, Sarah and Nour, who help her with designs for modern versions of traditional rugs. Sihem has managed to revive a craft that had all but disappeared from her village. She works with four or five other women weaving rugs and distributes these through local fairs and a crafters’ network.

Fair Fabrics NRC zomertapijt workshop Tunisia

Photocredits: Family Sihem

Both her daughters aren’t into the loom work. “We’re not patient to learn it because it’s hard. Everything has to be perfectly made without flaws. In fact, all we do is create new designs, ideas, and colors, but when it’s about weaving we get lost.” 

“Growing up with a mother like mine influenced me.

We do see the world differently,

but the customs and the traditions we were taught remain the same.”

Also Sihems mother is always there to help them. She’s more experienced and helps to clean the wool. The women Sihem works with also do some farming and during the olive harvest they don’t come to work. They can’t depend on weaving only since handcraft is no longer a profitable business.

“Not going to school is the thing I regret most in my life.”

Sihem regretted that she didn’t go to school, her father couldn’t afford it because they were seven kids. That’s why she encourages her children to keep studying and achieve what she couldn’t. The people in her village are really hard working, women work as much as men. Women who live there are real fighters, they help their husbands with everything they do. “This is where I belong. It’s my origin and the land of my ancestors.” 

Fair Fabrics zomertapijt NRC 2020 artisan

Photocredits: Moncef Ben Rajeb

My mother produces wool in the traditional way and she teaches us how to separate the threads and attach them the loom. She learnt all the skills from her mother. When she was a little girl she’d watch her weaving. She used to grab the shed stick and hold it like a pen. 

Her mom was taught how to do it by her mom. Long ago, women used to spin the yarn. When she went out she’d sneak in and spin some wool. Sometimes she hurt her finger so she’d run to her room and hide it from her mom. 

You can feel that some rugs have a soul, but if someone doesn’t make it with love and passion it won’t be appealing. I think passion is necessary to produce good work. Even if it’s to sell, it should be made with passion.

Fair Fabrics NRC zomertapijt 2020 detail

Photocredits: Geert van Hertum

Parts of this interview are from the documentary “The Thread”. A film by Brian Tilley.