Photo credits: Michelia Kramer
Food, memory and belonging
I remember in 1987, when I was 9 years old, we were away visiting my fathers family in Spain and my parents announced to me that we would no longer live in Mexico, we were going to live in Memphis, TN. What was supposed to be a holiday departure became a departure forever. I was devastated, for two very clear reasons. My house, which I loved, all details in that beautiful colonial house kept me company. The second was Mexican food, which made me so happy. The Friday night tacos al pastor, the lunch in Mercado de las Quesadillas in Coyoacan, these things were the absolute highlights of my life. How could I live without them?
We stayed in Memphis for three years, then moved again to Chile, to my mother’s family. When I was 24 I moved to France, stayed for 4 years and I have now lived in the Netherlands for 15 years. Looking back on these experiences, I can't really say I fully belong to one of these countries, I have fragments of connections to all of them within me. Food has been essential for me to build a sense of belonging within this journey. I have learned to find foods that make me smile, to recover the memories of those that have made me happy before and to explore new ones building new stories over and over again. I became an interior and product designer. I never forgot the importance of beauty in my environment, influenced by that house and beautiful culture I was so lucky to have experienced as a child. The fearless way of using color and the energy this gives to a person is something that has always stayed with me.
In 2012, living in Amsterdam, I missed a cheese from Chile. In my mind, cheese was a product for industry and farmers, but I still decided to try to make it. I was so amazed and happy to discover I could easily make it at home. It was one of the most empowering things I have ever experienced. I could access memories I thought were totally out of my reach and I could explore cheeses from all around the world in my own house. It was amazing. It was also one of the most beautiful transformations I had seen, milk, becoming curds and then cheese, it was some kind of magic.
This feeling of empowerment and magic drove me to create a design project which I named ‘Shaping cheese’ I created series of porcelain moulds with organic shapes meant to be beautiful objects for a home where cheese is made. They were an invitation to explore the shapes cheese could have and the types of cheeses that could be made at home.
De Kaasserie is the place where I put together my love for design and food. It is the place where my 9 year old self missing Mexican food, can be empowered over and over again building her belonging through cheese and invite others who have felt like that to do the same.
About my work
I am interested in the way daily rituals define who we are, how we think and feel. I create objects and spaces that promote rituals that empower people as individuals and help improve connections among them.
My background is in interior architecture, industrial design and fine arts. My language lies among these three. I refer to the functionality of an object or space because I am interested in people’s direct experience. I will at the same time approach it with an intention to speak of a particular subject or issue around it.
Press
Het Parool
Article about De Kaasserie
May 20, 2022
Your Little Black Book
Article about De Kaasserie
Wil je doen: Workshop Urban cheese maken
bij De Kaasserie in Amsterdam West
April 22, 2023
By Sam
Article about De Kaasserie
Must try: Een cursus Kaas maken bij De Kaasserie
November 28, 2022
Article about De Kaasserie
May 6, 2022
Article about De Kaasserie
De Kaasserie
Doe mee aan 'Creative Cheesemaking'!
September 2022
Broadcast Amsterdam
Podcast about De Kaasserie
Making your own cheese with De Kaasserie
November 8, 2022
New York Times
Where artists go play with clay
Article about the ekwc
European Ceramic Work Center
featuring Shaping Cheese
March 30, 2017
English Breakfast
Radio interview about Ruilbank
September 5, 2013
Article about Pivot Creative
August 31, 2013
Fast Co. Design
Article about Ruilbank
Park Benches Into Public Libraries
August 16, 2013
Designboom
Article about Ruilbank
Book share bench clip: Ruilbank by Pivot Creative
August 6, 2013
design.nl
Article about Ruilbank
September 12, 2013
Popupcity
Article about Ruilbank
Turning Public Benches Into An Arena Of Good Reads
August 6, 2013
Exhibitions
Biennale St Etienne France
Banc d'essai exhibition: Ruilbank
March 9 - April 9, 2017
Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
Arte Util Exhibition: Ruilbank
December 2013 - March 2014
Futurotextiles Awards 2012
European Center for Innovative Textiles
Tourcoing, France
Exhibition
October - December 2012
Munich Creative Business Week, 2012
Reflection corner, Made in Brainport
Exhibition
Istanbul design week, 2011
Reflection corner, Made in Brainport
Exhibition
Dutch design week, 2011
Reflection corner, Made in Brainport
Exhibition
Dutch design week, 2010
Graduation Galleries, Design Academy Eindhoven
Exhibition
Salon del Mobile Milan 2009
Picnic was part of ‘The questions’ exhibition, 2009
Exhibition
Awards Grants Residencies
Amsterdam funds voor de kunst
Ontwikkelbudget October 2016
Hembrug Terrain - Atelier Maarten Heijkamp
Three month residency
June 2018 - August 2017
Europees Keramiek Werk Centrum (ekwc)
Three month residency
December 2016 - February 2017
Hyphen projects - Innovation for Health
Exhibitor in Innovation for Heatlh 2014
Shortlisted for the Conceptual Design Award
Stichting Doen
Grant for the pilot installation of Ruilbank Amsterdam 2012
Futurotextiles 2012
First prize winner of the The CETI prize
High Technology in textile innovation with the project ‘Loop’
Developed with Pivot Creative
Air France Design Meal tray competition 2009
First prize winner with the project ‘Picnic’
Developed with Sabine Marcelis
Studies
Academy of Cheese
Associate level
Amsterdam, 2022-2023
De Waag Society - Fablab
Stage
January - April 2010
Maarten Baas Atelier
Stage
September - December 2009
Design Academy Eindhoven
Bachelor’s degree in Design
2007-2010
Ecole Camondo
Design and Interior Architecture
Diplome intermédiare
Paris, France. 2004-2007
Université Paris 13
Licence en communication
Villetaneuse, France 2003-2004
Universidad Católica de Chile
Fine arts school
Santiago, Chile. 2000-2003
College degree in social sciences
With one year in Agronomy
Universidad Católica de Chile
Santiago, Chile. 1997-1999
Elementary and High school studies in:
Mexico DF, Mexico
Memphis TN, USA
Santiago, Chile