Frottee di Mare – Art to go
2.8.2018
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
The two founding members of Frottee di Mare have sniffed out a niche and brought art to towels.
Nina Hebting and Jan Leu are counterparts – both professionally and personally. While Nina is rooted in abstract art, Jan’s natural habitat is concrete architecture. Together, the duo has created a piece of dolce vita with their label «Frottee di Mare».
As a proud owner of their hand towels, I’m thrilled to introduce the couple would rather not be referred to as designers.
Frottee di Mare up close and personal
Why did you start making terry towelling?
Nina: Entirely by chance. We’re not actual designers. I’m an artist.
Jan: And I’m an architect. The first time I came into contact with design was during my studies at ETH Zurich. This is when I started to work on a redesign for standard college hoodies to make them look cooler. It made me realise how much I enjoy working on my very own projects. For this reason, I took some time off after a two-year stint at an architectural office. Nina had just completed her Master’s in fine art.
Nina: It was the perfect time for both of us to start something new. But first, we went on a holiday to Italy. As we were lying at the beach, we realised how bland most beach towels are.
So you turned an aesthetics gap into a product idea?
Nina: Pretty much. As a painter, I’m interested in motifs and colours. Jan is more into materials and techniques. Towels are where both fields meet. Like canvases, they provide a surface to play with. Carpets are similar in that sense. However, we liked the aspect that towels are accessible and can be taken anywhere.
Why are the designs on your towels woven and not printed?
Nina: Printing is fairly straight-forward and would make the whole process a bit too simple. With weaving, there are limitations. You can only use a certain number of shades. What’s more, each change of colour results in a line. We wanted to find out how far we could push the boundaries with the traditional craft. Normally, woven towels are either unicoloured or striped. Yet there are a lot more possibilities that are hardly ever used. Another plus is that weaving gives you a pattern on both sides.
What do you like best about your new task?
Nina: The freedom we now both have and need. We’re doing what we’re fascinated by. Sure, there are things that aren’t all that inspiring when you establish and run a company. But we’re happy to do the bookkeeping in return for a project that’s close to our hearts.
Nina, where do you draw your inspiration from?
Nina: When I paint, I immerse myself into an abstract cosmos. When I'm designing a towel, the colours and shapes stem from my painting world. In other words, I look to art rather than figurative design.
You both emphasise that you are not trained designers. Are you comfortable in your new role, Jan?
Jan: When I was working as an architect, design was definitely not completely alien to me – there were always overlaps with furniture and textile designs. However, unless you’re working on fast-paced conversion projects, construction projects can take years. In product design, the intervals are a lot shorter and that’s what I’m really comfortable with at the moment.
Which item do you like best in your apartment?
Nina: Different works of art by friends.
Jan: A large-format coffee-table book about swimming pools. I’ve been hanging on to it for years and recently rediscovered it. It’s full of photos of pools from all over the world and from eras. The pictures really make you daydream… which takes me back to towels.
The fluffy masterpieces up close
Frottee di Mare towels are more than a feast for the eyes. They are manufactured by one of the few family-run businesses specialised in terry towelling – a small Austrian company that used to supply the Kaiser. Fulling the fabric creates finest two play cotton terry towelling that brings luxury and durability to the bathroom.
With the right kind of care (in German), these terry towelling beauties are colour-fast and warp-free. They are available in a range of sizes, making them perfect for your bathroom. The beach towels are great for on-the-go use and bound to turn heads by the lake or the sea.
Discover the complete collection
Anything you would like to ask Nina and Jan?
Just write your question in the comments field below. If you want to read more interviews and updates on all things interior, follow me by clicking on the black button next to my profile. I look forward to your subscription.
Header image: Individual threads turn the designs into terry towelling.
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
Interior
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