Involved in year 2018, 2025, 2026

Having grown up on Schouwen without being aware of flax it has nevertheless become a golden thread throughout my life. I explored it during both of my fashion studies but flax truly entered my life through my job as a product developer for linen fabrics. There I discovered the versatility of the material and it has never let go of me. By now I prefer developing fabrics with as few chemical additives as possible in order to let the character versatility and beauty of the material speak for itself.

Alongside my work I find peace and inspiration in nature. The diversity and transience of the seasons how plants and herbs nourish heal or poison but above all encourage us to create such as in the making of textiles. I see textiles and clothing as medicine just like those herbs and the power of seasonal vegetables. The question of how clothing can support my wellbeing and our wellbeing keeps returning again and again.

For now I find answers to that question mainly by experiencing it myself and documenting it. Occasionally I give workshops in the hope of inspiring people to look at their own wardrobe with the same perspective and a small sense of wonder.

What does the stewardship mean to you?

Stewardship for me is about connection.

Connection with the material the earth and fellow stewards. After a burnout I realized that I had been missing a love for material. In the commercial sector there is often no time for that love and attention. My current season as a steward brought me not only back to the origin of the material but also to a forgotten part of myself. It is a path to silence and movement nourished by craft and inspiration.

Through my feet in the earth the sun on my head the rustling flax the conversations in the field and the friendships that arise there. Through the flax moving through my fingers while spinning and later transforming into linen during weaving I have found that little piece of forgotten love again.

I rediscovered that love through a connection with the history of flax with which we move together into the future full of inspiration and curiosity.

Relevant specialisation 

The industrial and commercial development of linen from design to managing and adjusting production.

Things I would like to learn

The various crafts surrounding linen and how I experience them myself what effect they have on me and how other people experience them Processing flax Spinning Weaving Processing into a final product.

To dive even deeper into the world from flax to linen the versatility of textiles and the connection it gives us.

Karlijn Krijger
Arnhem
@karlijnkrijger