Diederick Tutein Nolthenius

My project was about crafts and how crafts can bring purpose and meaning to the people practicing it. The materialization of my project is twofold. I have made a chair and a bookshelf, both pieces were chosen for the challenge they represented to my skills. This challenging aspect of both projects is the nucleus of my enterprise as the acquisition and mastery of new skills is a core aspect of crafts. The chair was made in a chesterfield style, often seen as the most complex type of upholstery. And the bookshelf uses intricate wood sculpting techniques. Both of these were new to me and represented for me a path towards a better understanding of my skills and the craft I practice. For these projects I received help, advice and guidance from several craftspeople including but not limited to Albert van der Putten for the upholstery of the chair, Willem Verheij who provided valuable advice for the bookshelf, Paulûs van der Jagt for the smithing work, Sabin, Ronald, Luis, Leonie, Eduard, Karin, Tarek, Dennis, Eduard and Nico from the KABK Wood and Metal workshops who helped me with their advice and knowledge.

The process of making the Chesterfield chair was largely filmed and Tobias de Haan made that movie possible by doing all the editing for me.