{"id":27689,"date":"2025-04-25T13:48:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T11:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcadia.frl\/projecten\/veenweideatelier\/doerebout\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T16:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T14:30:07","slug":"doerebout","status":"publish","type":"program","link":"https:\/\/arcadia.frl\/en\/projecten\/veenweideatelier\/doerebout\/","title":{"rendered":"Doerebout"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With Doerebout<\/em>, furniture maker and designer Friso Wiersma<\/strong>, in collaboration with the Veenweide Atelier, explores how wetland plants like cattail (Doerebout<\/em> in Stadsfrisian) can be transformed into furniture that is both soulful and practical. This project weaves together craftsmanship, landscape, and innovative materials into a new story\u2014about living in harmony with nature and honouring the origins of what surrounds us.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Friso Wiersma is an industrial designer and furniture maker who graduated with honours from the Design Academy Eindhoven (Man & Well-being department). His design philosophy is grounded in his experience as a maker. He has worked as a woodworker, boatbuilder, and cabinetmaker. His dedication as a designer is reflected in his willingness to serve not only the material, but also the people he designs for. Mastery, to him, lies not in virtuosic skill alone, but in being guided by the material\u2014and in his ability to communicate the values that reside within this perspective.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the project Doerebout<\/em>, Wiersma and the Veenweide Atelier examine how wetland crops like cattail\u2014plants that store carbon and reduce CO\u2082 emissions\u2014can be used to design with purpose. This is part of a larger movement called paludiculture<\/em>, a sustainable agricultural approach for peatland regions with high water tables. But this project is not only about form. It\u2019s also about meaning: How can we shape this material from the peatlands in a way that is beautiful, accessible, and honest?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doerebout<\/em> unfolds in two stages: from soulful showpiece to everyday object\u2014from craftsmanship to scalability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by the tradition of historical kunstkabinetten<\/em>\u2014refined furniture pieces where art and craft meet\u2014Friso created a cabinet that uses wood sparingly (Frysl\u00e2n has forests, but not many), combined with wetland fibres. The elm tree has long been planted around farmyards in peaty areas; the black alder thrives in wet, marshy soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wood for the project was sourced from De Rat<\/strong>, a historic wind-powered sawmill in IJlst. Here, timber is still cut using techniques from the past\u2014powered by wind, and speaking to the future. Ornamental carvings by Ashok Bhadra<\/strong> express the cultural and spiritual ties between people and the peat landscape. The result is a deeply layered, soulful piece that gives physical shape to the stories embedded in the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second part of Doerebout<\/em> focuses on functional, scalable design\u2014furniture made not as one-offs, but for daily use. Friso brings his experience as a designer for a major furniture brand to the table, now paired with industrial innovation and the expertise of Tjeerd Veenhoven<\/strong>, who previously developed sheet materials from wetland plants during the Veenweide residencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In collaboration with De Schoolmeester<\/strong>\u2014a traditional paper mill in Westzaan\u2014offcut fibres were turned into paper that wraps the panels, giving them a refined texture and finish. Friso also designed a furniture line, now produced in collaboration with SAM Panels<\/strong> and Empatec<\/strong>, a social enterprise in Franeker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doerebout<\/em> shows how new materials from the peatlands can help shape our identity\u2014through furniture that is crafted with care and in respect of the living world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Henri\u00ebtte Waal in a field of doerebout (Frisian for cattail)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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De Rat sawmill in Ijlst uses wind power to cut locally sourced timber<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arno Kalfsvel working with local wood and sheet material made from wetland crops<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fiber from doerebouten (cattails) from the Frisian peat meadow area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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