Inspired by age-old textile traditions from the Dogon region near Burkina Faso, where the Dogon people live and wanting to support the artisans who uphold these traditions Amsterdam based Ella Hustinx founded Elle La in the Summer of 2020 and recently opened their showroom at de Hallen.
Surprisingly Ella happened to live in the same area as me and was so kind to drop by my home to show me her work personally and tell me more about the artisans and the natural ingredients used for the cotton she now creates cushions and wall hangings from. For the production she teamed up with local Atelier Made Here and thrift store De Lokatie
The showroom at De hallen is closed, items are available at the Ella La Webshop
Open for appointment every Monday and Wednesday from 09:00 - 19:00.
Elle La Showroom
Hannie Dankbaarpassage 5
1053 RT Amsterdam
+31 (0)6 55 11 70 42
website: Elle La
area: West | Old West | De Hallen
The showroom at De hallen is closed, items are available at the Ella La Webshop
Hannie Dankbaarpassage 5
1053 RT Amsterdam
+31 (0)6 55 11 70 42
website: Elle La
area: West | Old West | De Hallen
Made locally with recycled filling
The cotton is hand - picked, spun and woven with local looms in strips about 15 centimeters wide and then coloured using the Bogolan technique where mud is mixed with natural dyes from tree bark, indigo leaves and plants. What I saw were the most beautiful pure colours: terra, indigo, cream and pale black and rolls with that little touch of 'irregularity' you only see when something is handmade.Ella designs all products herself and they are made in collaboration with Atelier Made Here, a studio based in Amsterdam East, where refugee tailors from mainly Syria stitch the pillows together. Ella: "Supporting the local economy by working with a local manufacturer enables us to reduce emissions, and produce on a smaller scale, based on real demand.
Elle carefully chooses her materials, aiming for naturalness, longevity and durability. The filling is recycled down feathers. In collaboration with the Amsterdam based thrift-shop De Lokatie we collect second- hand feather bedding which is cleaned and purified by bedding company Ducky dons in accordance with the ‘Responsible Down Standard’ (RDS).
All images ©vosgesparis / portret picture via Ella La
