Dezeen Magazine

Hella Jongerius' new rugs for Danskina were designed from the yarn up

In this movie, Dutch designer Hella Jongerius introduces the three latest additions to Danskina's range of rugs and explains how she "always starts with the yarn" when designing new textiles.

Argali rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina
Argali rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina

Danskina launched three new rugs in 2015, two by Jongerius – the company's design director – and a third by recent Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Daniel Costa.

Argali rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina
Detail of the Argali rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina

Jongerius' first new design is a hand-knotted rug called Argali, which features a braided fringe and silk embroidery.

The rug gets its name from the rugged breed of Himalayan sheep, which provided the wool used to make it.

Argali rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina
Detail of the Argali rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina

"It is made from the wool of a sheep high up in the mountains," Jongerius says. "This wool is so sturdy. You can use it in the contract market. It will last forever and it stays beautiful."

Dew rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina
Dew rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina

Jongerius also designed a new tufted rug called Dew, which features an uneven surface of hand-cut piles.

"Normally when you do tufting you shave it and it has one surface," Jongerius explains. "But this is cut by hand so you have irregularity. It gives it a very nice shadow play."

Fringe rug by Daniel Costa for Danskina
Fringe rug by Daniel Costa for Danskina

The third product in the new collection is a rug called Fringe by young designer Daniel Costa, whose work Jongerius spotted in 2013 at the Design Academy Eindhoven graduate show.

"It's made out of New Zealand wool, with very bulky fringes," Jongerius says. "It is very generous. We are really celebrating sheep like this."

Fringe rug by Daniel Costa for Danskina
Fringe rug by Daniel Costa for Danskina

Berlin-based Jongerius is widely recognised as one of the world's most influential female designers. This year she launched a manifesto calling for an end to "pointless products, commercial hypes and empty rhetoric" in design with theorist Louise Schouwenberg.

In 2013 she worked with architect Rem Koolhaas to renovate the North Delegates' Lounge at the United Nations buildings in New York.

Fringe rug by Daniel Costa for Danskina
Fringe rug by Daniel Costa for Danskina

When designing textiles, Jongerius says she always starts with the yarn.

"In general as a designer I always start with the yarn and that's also what I do with Danskina," she explains. "We start by spinning yarns, trying to blend them in a special way with other yarns. Then we start to design the rug."

Dew rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina
Dew rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina

Danskina was founded in 1973 by Piet and Ina van Eijken. In 2011, the brand was acquired by textile companies Kvadrat and Maharam, which appointed Jongerius as design director in 2013. The trio of new designs make up the company's second collection since Jongerius took on the role.

She believes that there is a gap in the market for luxury contemporary rugs and says that she wants to help Danskina fill it.

Dew rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina
Dew rug by Hella Jongerius for Danskina

"People either have very old and beautiful antique rugs on the floor, or very cheap ones, which they throw away after one or two years," she explains. "There's not a lot on between."

"Why can't we have a contemporary version of this antique language? That's what I'm looking for."

Danskina design director Hella Jongerius
Danskina design director Hella Jongerius. Copyright: Dezeen

This movie was produced by Dezeen for Danskina. It was filmed at Danskina's studio in Amsterdam. The music featured is a track called October by UK producer Jo Noon.