Inside story and burnt coffee with the Ginger

We have a ritual on Tuesdays, actually almost any day we both are on campus. We get coffee and sit and chat for a while, this can be quick or a lazy period of time. Sometimes we are having moments when we both wonder why the arts was a good decision, when we are tired and broke and hitting a wall, or we just compare pictures of cats and corsets, we haven't found cats in corsets though I am sure we would compare those too.

We have red benches on campus, outside of the cafeteria, if the weather is nice, the two of us and a lot of our friends, can be seen there when we aren't in class. I think; a lot of our lecturers think we are each others partners in crime. Don't worry we will be giving tours of where we work on campus soonish.

So here is the lovely Clara Jansen, the textile designer of our little duo or The Ginger on the blog. Clara is busy with her BTech in Textile design and an amazing dyer of fabrics. She and other designers and Arts have a Stall at DecorX in Johannesburg soon. 

What makes you giddy with excitement about your field? 

A room full of brightly coloured textiles e.g: indian fabrics. A lovely wallpaper or fabric, I will die for a scarf. (She wears one pretty much everyday, between her pixie cut and scarves, she has a signature look that is amazing.)

Are you inspired more by local design or more internationally?

Traditional crafts excite me, especially traditional textiles. Internationally crafts a craft unique to its country holds its own fascination. Locally the boom in hand printed textiles is also a source of different inspiration.

Are there particular countries that you want to go too?

Unsurprisingly the first thing she said was Scandinavia, she loves vikings and folk art of these regions. Eastern Europe and the Middle East, were also on the list of places to go and people to see.

What is the difference between a conceptual textile designer and a technical textile designer?

"Design for me doesn't have to be conceptual based, so that is a difficult question." Conceptual textile designers do more once off pieces and they do more art pieces or statements. Where technical designers will be more geared towards industry and the world of more mass produced textiles or textiles that are more towards the needs of people.

Would you rather hug a honey badger or a grizzly bear? 

"Grizzly bear," was replied with a huge giggle.