THE NATURAL FABRICDISCOVERING FUR

The story of the very first DISCOVERING FUR – THE NATURAL FABRIC –course The very first DISCOVERING FUR – THE NATURAL FABRIC -course was carried out successfully October 2011 in Finland. The first week included introduction to the fur material and fur history as well as study visits to the local companies. The participants visited two fur farms, dressing company Panfur2000 and Ahlskog Leather tannery in Ostrobothnia area. During the second week participants got hands-on experiences about the fur and possibility to apply learning into own creation. The course was led by professor Basil Kardasis (Royal College of Art, London) and teacher Lis-Mari Jansson.

Students were invited to apply for a stipendium which covered the cost of tuition. At the very first DISCOVERING FUR –THE NATURAL FABRIC –course two talented students, Michael Olive and Thao Ta got the stipendiums donated by the finnish fur farmers.

Next DISCOVERING FUR –course will be arranged from 5th to 14th June 2012. Registration is open at www.cou.fi/futurefurstudio. Please read more and meet the participants on the following pages.

Jean-Louis Baquet, Teacher, Belgium

Jean-Louis Baquet is a fashion consult for mens and womens wear and a teacher on fashion design at Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer in Brussels.

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The training covered the discovery of fur work in two essentials aspects: Creativity and ways of conceptual creating in the ways that allows to exploit the beautiful material through original and personal attention. The technique to use the extraordinary potential of the fur with a lot of wealth and respect. The team organized international meeting for stimulating creativity. The co-ordination of the training was done with great professionalism and each participant left with some very interesting discoveries, useful and practical, ready to be integrated into the industry professional. –Jean-Louis -

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Silvia Cabalzar, Designer, Switzerland

It was a wonderful experience and I could gain a lot of knowledge while working with this beautiful material. On all these very interesting visits at these companies and farmers I could see a lot to make me more understand the whole process. – Silvia -

Zurich, Milan, London are milestones for Silvia Cabalzar, couturier, stylist and master in fashion design. She conceives and crafts exclusive collections with their own unmistakable chic under the ”Cabalzar” label. Her company ELEGANTIA is based in Switzerland. ELEGANTIA tailors an exclusive, limited quantity of each style. They are offered primarily at the select group of establishment around the world. www.elegantia.ch

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Marita Huurinainen, Designer, Finland

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The DISCOVERING FUR course was very rewarding and interesting, and worked as an inspirational forum where the team spirit and atmosphere was very good.– Marita -

Marita Huurinainen has a Master’s degree from the Design department in Helsinki University of Art and Design. She works as an industrial designer for various companies (e.g. Marimekko). She also produces her own avant-gardist collections and designs unique evening garments for individual customers. She has been awarded with various international and national design prizes (e.g. the Baltic Fashion Award, Ornamo Design Prize.) www.maritadesign.com

Huurinainen is constantly trying out all possible solutions in different design fields in terms of materials and techniques. Shape is the most important part of Huurinainen’s work. In an imaginative way she conducts different experiments with materials ranging from veneer and horsehair to crystals and moss.

Fur is one of her favourite natural materials. The aim of using fur is to find new and different solutions, so that the warmth, sensation and aesthetic characteristics of the material will be highlighted. Huurinainen is interested in the possibilities of using natural fur, and she has registered a trademark - WFF-Wild Finnish Fur - for this product group.

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Ann-Charlott Hästö, Architect, Finland

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This workshop contained a lot of know-how and skills/expertise about the fur material. It was an honour to take part of Professor Basil Kardasis´ professional guidance and teaching.

The atmosphere during the course was very familiar. It created a sense of community and closeness, which gave strength for creativity and innovation during the process. - Ann-Charlott -

I am an architect with a Master’s degree in architecture and with a membership in the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA). I am working with both exterior and interior design. I have also been working with design tasks among other things as an interior designer of yachts at Nautor’s Swan.

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I like to participate in multidisciplinary projects where I can refine and develop my knowledge about different products, and learn how to "think out of the box".

Michael Olive, Fashion Design student, UK

I was lucky enough to be selected to receive a scholarship to join the course. This was donated by the fur farmers and without this there is no way I would have entered this amazing world of fur. I started with no knowledge of fur whatsoever but by the time we finished, all of my questions on how to work with this material to the ethics behind it had been answered.

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The course was made very personal to me and made sure I developed my own work as far as I could. This added with the visits to the fur farms and tanneries made this an unmissable experience. By the time I was back in England I had already searched for places to use fur machines to be able to use fur within my last year of university.

I look forward to exploring fur throughout my career and hope that some day I will be able to introduce more people into this community. – Mike -

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Thao Ta, Fashion Design student, Vietnam

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I am a graduate from Fashion Accessories design at Coventry University, and I have worked with fur but with a very limited knowledge of this amazing material and that was the reason I applied for the course. It was the honour that I was chosen to receive the scholarship for the first DISCOVERING FUR course and I was very impressed with all the activities. Coming to this course, I was asked not to make a product but to use the existing techniques and modernize it by using a new innovative method. It was strange for me as I was always asked to make shoes and accessories but I was up for the challenge!

By the end of the workshop, each of the participants gave a short presentation of our progression throughout the time. I discovered that fur has its own life and motion which I could not fully control but to understand it. By drawing fur, I observed its movement and then transferred the drawings into fur piece with a combination of Tyvek, a modern material.

I was amazed with the result and it was a beginning of my development! –Thao Ta -

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Philippe Van Mollekot, Teacher, Belgium

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New experience...New challenge...New discovery ...Wonderful experience...Unforgettable course, memorable exchanges, a great team, led by a master in this field, BASIL ...It's a great experience to be lived in order to advance in the field of fur.It allows to evolve in an unusual and instructive way.

It is a subtle blend of technical, creative and "genius" for a result that I never thought possible before starting ...Thank you for those rare moments that make our lives so interesting. – Philippe -

I am Philippe Van Mollekot, 37 years old. I’ve been working in the world of fashion for more than 20 years in different companies. I initially started in the patternmaking department, then moved to the production quality control in various countries, before becoming quality manager. I was then promoted to manager of the technical department for the women and men’s vintage collections. Currently, I’m specializing in the development of knitwear collection for the whole family (BELLEROSE). At the same time, I am also a professor at the Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer in Brussels in patternmaking.

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DISCOVERING FUR –THE NATURAL FABRIC -course

developed by FutureFURstudio-project

Central Ostrobothnia University of Applied SciencesDepartment of Fur Design

Koulukatu 25-27, 68600 Pietarsaari, FINLANDTel. +358 50 336 8746

E-mail: pia.blomstrom(at)cou.fiwww.cou.fi/futurefurstudio

Hope to see you in Pietarsaari!