he Centenary of Lithuania has been celebrated not only by various events across the year all over the country and abroad, but also by creating dedicated products and collections of art. One of these is a home textile collection “Sentiments” created by a team of artists and textile engineers, devoted to the unique nature and heritage of Curonian Spit. Recently the collection was introduced as a part of Lithuanian exhibition in China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
The collection “Sentiments” was created by a new label BALTIC ECO THINGS d’Art Design Baltic Group, represented by Rasa Skripkiūnaitė, the author of the idea and the textile products design, Eglė Kumpikaitė, associate professor at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, the author of solutions for textile structures and Eglė Lapelytė, KTU fashion engineering master’s student, the author of jacquard textile design. The project was supported by KTU, Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and Lithuanian Cultural Council.
“Our textile products are for people who feel themselves as being a part of nature, are sensitive about their contact and intrusion to the natural surroundings, and for whom ecological products and interior aesthetics are important”, says Rasa Skripkiūnaitė.
Home textile collection “Sentiments” is dominated by minimalist aesthetics, evoking feelings of calmness and elusiveness of time. On the occasion of Lithuania Centenary, it is inviting to contemplate our past, to get in touch with the partly lost nature and cultural heritage. The collection focuses on Lithuanian gem, UNESCO heritage site Curonian Spit by including symbols of nature and cultural heritage from this region. By doing this, the authors of the collection are emphasising the fragility of nature and importance of historical memory.
While creating products for “Sentiments” collection, the authors aimed to use natural fabrics and processes, therefore mechanical softening finishing was used in order to emphasise the structure of the jacquard textiles. The expressive texture of jacquard was achieved by combining single-layer and double-layer weaving. The double-layered textiles have relief, soft structure, as their two layers are not tightly woven together, but loosely connected. The double-layered textiles are of two colours – bleached and natural linen, as the layers can be interchanged thus creating two-coloured elements on the surface.
Although also woven using several different methods, the single-layered textiles do not have relief structure. The textiles in these places are flat and the colour is a mix of the two linen colours used in the collection.
The products of the collection include bed sets, plaids, throws, towels, kitchen towels and accessories. Natural wool and linen fibres were used for making the collection. The authors of the collection believe that it will mostly appeal to young families and will be a perfect addition for a child’s room.
The collection “Sentiments” was introduced in numerous places across Lithuania, including Baltic Fashion & Textile Vilnius 2018 fair, which, according to the organisers attracted more than 10 thousand visitors from 26 countries.
“We are hoping that our collection will inspire people from other countries to take interest into our nature and culture”, say the authors of the collection.
