All about crafts, handmade products and traditional techniques
Discover this traditional Japanese technique for dyeing textiles Costume and textile designer Carolina Raggio (@carolina_45) reinterprets ancestral techniques to achieve modern results. Carolina is the creative director of her own eponymous brand, for which she develops timeless garments and accessories. In this blog, Carolina explains more about the history of this technique and how you can experiment with it to create unique designs and patterns.
Discover the secrets to this traditional technique that combines painting and design Fabric marbling is a process that involves floating paints on top of a thick solution. The paints are manipulated into patterns that are later transferred to an object. You can use this craft to dye fabrics and paper, while some people also use it to dye leather and ceramic pieces.
Find out what materials are necessary to start building your own models with Julieta La Valle Whether it’s for an audiovisual project or an architectural one, models are one of the best ways to visualize a space. By reproducing an idea in three dimensions, even on a small scale, we can give form to our imagination and better understand the textures, proportions, and other elements of our concept. Sculptor, director, and art director Julieta La Valle (@julietalavalle) specializes in making miniature models for video and art projects. Below, she lists the materials you will need to make your own models.
An introduction to this automated manufacturing process CNC stands for computer numerical control. It refers to the automated control of machinery and tools–such as drills, boring tools, lasers, and lathes–to generate physical parts from CAD (computer aided design) files. This manufacturing process is much faster, incredibly precise, requiring very little to no human assistance or interaction. CNC machines have at least two axes, operating along an XYZ plane–X axis (vertical), Y axis (horizontal), and Z axis (depth)–following instructions from a computer. The number of axes usually determines the type of movement a CNC machine can perform. The instructions the machine receives are written in a programming language known as G-code. We can use CAM (computer aided manufacturing) software to automatically convert CAD files into G-code.
Silvia Hijano Coullaut teaches you how to create and configure the main pop-up elements of a pop-up book Pop-up books refer to those that, when opened, have elements that jump in front of our eyes creating incredible effects. Silvia Hijano Coullaut (@silvia_libracos), the founder of the Libracos studio, is a true expert in paper engineering. In this video, she shares with Domestika, in the form of a small creative tidbit, part of her process for creating a pop-up book. Silvia Hijano shows you the combined technique of a basic "V" mechanism with tabs, combining a folded paper—a kind of simple origami—that will fill the whole scene horizontally once the page of the book is opened. Learn how to create pop-up elements of a pop-up book:
The Domestika community lists their favorite papercraft artists Paper isn’t just a material on which we can draw or write, we can work with it in lots of different ways to create unique illustrations, collages, and sculptures. This versatile and affordable material can take many different forms of artistic expression. We asked the Domestika community to list the papercraft artists who they find most inspiring. These were the results: Diana Beltrán (@dianabeltranherrera) Colombian industrial designer Diana Beltrán explores experimental techniques with card and paper. She’s inspired by animals and nature, both in her independent projects as well as her collaborations with big brands. She teaches the Domestika course, Advanced Papercraft Techniques: Designing with Paper.
Learn these basic tips from Ancestral to keep in mind before starting to weave on a circular loom Weaving with a round base opens up a world of possibilities of unique tapestries and textile pieces, but to begin with it is important to create a solid base: the warp, a set of longitudinal threads placed in tension on a loom, will be the foundation of your work. In this tutorial, Erika Pineda, textile artist and founder of Ancestral (@ancestral_co), a brand dedicated to the production of hand-woven decorative pieces, shows us how to assemble a warp in two different ways: with and without a central binding. You can watch the video here.
Plants have amazing health benefits and can transform spaces Plants can bring a lot of benefits to any area. They purify the air and give us that wonderful feeling of being in a fresh environment. Studies have shown that our concentration increases when we are around them. They also improve our workplace, dampening background noise, and helping us be more efficient. In short, they improve our daily life. But plants are also a design element that can be considered when designing the interior of a space. They can completely transform a room, giving it a more natural and earthy look. If you want to use plants for your interior decoration, Xènia Bas (@xenia_bas) is a ceramicist and artist who knows everything there is to know about the subject. Here are her tips and tricks: Evaluate the space
Learn to make homemade substrates for your succulents using a few simple ingredients In the last few years, succulent plants have become decorations for countless public spaces and private homes, outside and in thanks to their hardy nature, the beauty they bring to their surroundings, and the ease of caring for them. But it's important to bear their idiosyncrasies in mind: for example, strong and healthy plants need to be cultivated in a special kind of substrate. In the following video, Meena and Ceci, two botanical designers who make up the Compañía Botánica (@ciabotanica) show us the essential ingredients for a good succulent substrate. Find out how to make on in the video below.
Pablo Salvaje lists the tools you need to start engraving Artist Pablo Salvaje (@pablosalvaje) mixed his passion for ink, paper, and illustration with his family's old printing press business, focusing on engraving, design, illustration, and screen printing techniques. With nature as his muse, he aims to leave a mark, literally and figuratively, with each of his pieces. To encourage you to try some of his methods, Pablo Salvaje shares a list of 22 basic tools that you need to start engraving. They are all easy to find and work with, so you can get down to business with the ideas you already have in your head.
A movement that celebrates artisanal production values and a slower process of embroidery If traditional techniques that have been passed down through generations have shown us anything, it’s that it’s not always necessary to produce a lot and quickly, nor the perfect piece, to produce well. There is a movement within the world of embroidery that consists precisely of enjoying the journey, delighting in each stitch, and experimenting with the possibilities that arise when we dedicate time to planning each step–or we just let it flow. It’s known as slow stitch, and the Mexican textile artist Gabriela Martínez (@ofeliayantelmo) is one of its biggest ambassadors. We spoke with her to find out slow stitch is, what the movement consists of, and how to join it.
Kiosko Creativo takes us through the materials you’ll need to bring a concept for a store window to life Window dressing is a fusion of lots of different disciplines: art direction, crafts, architecture, sculpture, installation, and, of course, design. It involves experimenting with colors, materials, perspectives, and depth to create optical effects that attract the attention of passers-by.
Discover how to achieve realism using a needle and thread Needle painting or thread painting is an embroidery technique that uses traditional painting and drawing techniques to shade and add volume and structure to an image. The needle becomes your paintbrush and the thread, your paint. In recent years, needle painting has become a very popular technique thanks to the extraordinary effects you can create with every stitch.
Check out some websites, apps, and free tutorials to start creating your own garments
Adriana Torres shares with you a raised embroidery template Adriana Torres (@soymigadepan) is a designer and embroiderer with extensive experience in disciplines such as architecture, graphic design and illustration. In her brand, Miga de Pan, she uses various embroidery techniques, especially embossed and raised stitches.
Learn this simple step by step technique to create Amigurumi volume shapes with Ameskeria In the 80s the Japanese pop world - abundant in inventions that amuse and enchant - gave us the Amigurumi, a technique for creating small crocheted dolls. As this is a method for weaving objects with volume, it often requires a type of structure called a magic circle, which allows for "round" crochet. In this tutorial, Ameskeria (@ameskeria), a designer and photographer from Barcelona specializing in crochet, teaches us step by step how to make this basic shape for your Amigurumi creations:
Lola Giardino teaches basic ceramics techniques so that you can start making your own creations Lola Giardino's (@lolagiardino) relationship with pottery started in 2011 as a way to escape from digital life. She tried different crafts but soon fell in love with ceramics and developed the skill to shape incredible objects just using hand building, a technique where the beauty and uniqueness of the pieces come from little imperfections. Lola shares the three basic modeling techniques so that you can also become an expert in hand building:
This Costa Rican architect and visual artist creates layered sculptures of portraits and human bodies. Ale Rambar (@alerambar) is a Costa Rican artist whose work is based on the topographic analysis of the human body. If you have ever seen a topographical 3D map, the kind architects use when creating the model of a building, you'll find his three-dimensional compositions made with layers of paper incredibly familiar, yet mesmerizing. Each piece is cut and assembled layer by layer, creating incredibly detailed scenes and portraits full of meaning. Topographies (2016) Topographies was Rambar’s first collection of layered sculptures made of paper. This innovative technique was inspired by his architecture studies. “After analyzing kilometers of topography, I began to remember how as a child, I imagined how the mountains of the Braulio Carrillo National Park had the shape of human figures. I then began to generate topographical studies using human beings instead of terrains,“ Rambar explains.
Learn how to design clothes and accessories with resources at hand If you have the fashion design bug, but the idea that you need very specialized knowledge is preventing you from giving it a try, this post is for you. These experts in fashion design and artisanal techniques will help you discover that manufacturing clothes and accessories using different contemporary styles is easier than it looks. Textile Silkscreen Printing with Stencil, a course by Festela Store In this course, you will learn to create unique garments by stamping your own designs with artisanal techniques explained by Festela Store, a clothing brand that has adopted the slow fashion movement. The method is applicable to all kinds of garments. You will start by creating a mood board to inspire you, experiment with various materials, and create your own fabric stamps.
Learn the basics of this type of weaving, its various techniques, and versatile uses
Paula Casella Biase, potter and founder of Bambucito, shows us how to marble our pieces quickly and easily The creation and personalization of ceramic pieces goes beyond modeling, although this is an essential part. The shape of the piece is completed with the decoration that we want to apply, and the use of glazing techniques usually contributes to a much more attractive and unique finish. One of the simplest glazing techniques is marbling, with which we can use a few colours and some heat to create more interesting work. To help you learn to apply marbling, ceramicist Paula Casella Biase (@paulacasellabiase) explains her technique in the video below:
Learn this basic dyeing technique that uses leaves, flowers, barks, stems, roots, peels and seeds step by step with Anabel Torres As the name suggests, plant-based pigments are those extracted from plants. Within this category, we can find flowers, peels, leaves, stems, fruits, seeds, barks, and roots. Dyeing with plant-based pigments means extracting the color from these materials, putting them to boil, and getting it to stick to the fabric we want to dye. In the following video tutorial, fashion designer and textile artist Anabel Torres (@anabeltorres) shows a very simple and effective method to dye your fabrics with different natural pigments. Find out below:
Costa Rican architect and visual artist Ale Rambar opens the doors of his studio and reflects on what motivate his work Ale Rambar's work has traveled the world: he has passed through prestigious national art galleries, accompanied the Costa Rican Olympic team in 2016 during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and was even selected to represent Costa Rica in the Beijing International Art Biennale. His technique, based on the topographical analysis of the human form, uses three-dimensional compositions, made with layers of paper and assembled by hand, to talk about themes such as tolerance and equality. In this Domestika Diaries, Rambar shows us his personal studio and talks about the messages behind some of his most relevant works. Discover what he had to say in the video below:
Discover basic tips to create packaging at home with Tatabi Studio’s screen printing technique Using DIY techniques for your brand identity allows you to create an original and unique style. Among the techniques that help us achieve this aesthetic is silk-screen printing, a popular methods for brands to boost their designs. That's why designer Elena Sancho, founder of Tatabi Studio (@tatabi), teaches us how to use this printing technique to create unique packaging with a lot of personality. You can watch the tutorial here:
Get inspired by the work of textile artists who take embroidery out of the fabric Many people mistakenly think that embroidery is a boring and old-fashioned activity. Contemporary embroidery artists challenge this idea with each of their pieces. They elevate embroidery as a valuable artistic expression and expand the limits of what can be accomplished with the technique. We have curated a selection of embroidery artists who explore novel themes but also do it outside the canvas. Be amazed and inspired by this work! Danielle Clough Better known on Instagram as Fiance Knowles, this South African needle artist likes to embroider on unexpected objects, like snowshoes and even railings on the streets.
Discover the principles and history of this surprisingly modern vocation Furniture has, of course, existed throughout history: humans have always needed a place to rest their bodies and store their things. It wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, however, that the historical and cultural value of furniture, and, in turn, the importance of restoring and conserving it, was recognized. The craft itself also became a means of practically understanding the processes that created the antiques we admire. A community of restorers and museums blossomed and continues to share their findings openly to ensure the authentic preservation of historical artifacts and the skills and techniques used to make them. The Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute lays out three main principles of furniture restoration: The minimization of deterioration (preservation) The consolidation (stabilization) of artifacts as they currently exist Repair/replacement (compensation or restoration) of existing damage One of the most ambitious feats of recent restoration was the work on the chair of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France until her death during the French Revolution in 1973, by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Discover the basic steps for dyeing natural fibers and the process for handling dyes with Pluumbago Water, heat, dye, and the fibers to be dyed. Although it doesn't require much, the dyeing process has its secrets, especially if you want to obtain different tones and textures, or coppery and opaque colors and use other effects that will make your work stand out. In this tutorial, Mexican textile artist Ixchel Yué (@pluumbago), founder of the Pluumbago brand, shares her basic tips on the hydration of the strips, temperature, and heating time, as well as the materials needed for the ideal dyeing of cotton fibers. Necessary materials Before you start, keep in mind that you'll need to gather: A sketch of the work you will do with the dyed strips, in which you establish the amount of fiber each color will receiveWater and a bowl to pre-hydrate the stripsA potDyes of the desired shadesTongs to manipulate the fiber and remove it when it is hotA rag to clean the work areaAn apronSalt or dye fixative
Upcycling champions Emma Friedlander-Collins and Ximena Corcuera guide us to environmental awareness in a creative way
Discover this crucial step in manufacturing sculptures, ceramics, and much more Whether we’re using artisanal or industrial processes, two essential items that we need to reproduce an object are 1) a liquid material that will go hard when heat is applied and 2) a mold. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about large-scale industries such as automobile manufacturing or small workshops producing artisan products: molds are essential for reproducing objects. But… how are molds made? What is mold-making? Mold-making is creating a mold that will later be used to duplicate a particular object or artwork. It can be made from different materials, including metal, plastic, clay, and plaster.
