During this workshop, you will get hands-on with a classic platen press from the first half of the 19th century. You will print a domino, an early form of wallpaper, using a wooden block.
After printing, you will finish your print with color, applied using a stencil and brush. For this, you will use an ink prepared according to a historical recipe, based on gum arabic and pigment.
You will learn how printed matter was constructed in the past: applying ink, positioning the paper, setting the print, and finishing. No theory, just doing.
You will work with authentic materials: wooden printing blocks, traditional inks, and Arches paper.
Afterwards, you will take home a unique, handmade sheet.
Everything happens continuously: you can join in, participate, and move on. Short, tangible, and direct.
Atelier V.V. creates hand-printed wallpaper using a technique that had disappeared from Belgium for more than half a century: printing with the slab. Dimitri and Vicky print their patterns block by block, color by color, using large wooden printing blocks and paint they make themselves based on historical recipes.
Where industrial wallpaper is flat and uniform, here a surface emerges with nuance, depth, and small variations — visible and tangible.
In addition to rolls of wallpaper, Atelier V.V. also prints dominoes: early forms of printed paper that served as precursors to wallpaper. These are printed sheet by sheet, just as in the past.
The atelier works on both new interiors and restorations, always with respect for materials, techniques, and history.
Dimitri Vermeylen is the driving force behind Atelier V.V., which he founded together with his wife Vicky Vermeire. After a career of more than twenty years in the business world, he returned to a craft practice, with a strong focus on historical printing techniques.
He immersed himself in the subject through volunteer work at the Industrial Museum in Ghent, among other things, where he worked with typography and lithography. Today, he and Vicky combine that technical craftsmanship with their own research into historical dyeing and printing methods.
Atelier V.V. has grown into one of the few studios worldwide that prints wallpaper in this way again.
During workshops and demonstrations, Dimitri shares his knowledge in a direct manner: not academically, but by doing, with attention to materials and techniques.
Thanks to Erfgoedcel Vlaamse Ardennen (Variant), FILA Benelux for sponsoring the Arches paper, and thanks to Patrick Goossens.
During the festival, children can make their own mosaics using all kinds of odds and ends. They can use any kind of material—those bits and pieces, toys, and trinkets that everyone has lying around.
Materials will be available for the children to choose from to form their own mosaic. The children can then decide for themselves whether to fill in a drawn silhouette or to sort out the colors to create a more realistic image.
The panels will eventually form one colorful whole.
Ismaël Bils studied installation art at KASK in Ghent and creates all kinds of artworks, primarily using recycled materials. Years ago, Ismaël started making mosaics from all kinds of waste materials. He began with simple silhouettes, filled with all kinds of colorful material. First on boards and on the wall of his room. But because he enjoyed it so much, he eventually decorated the entire garden wall of his house.
This installation allows every visitor to contribute to a giant circular loom.
Just roll up your sleeves, smile, and create something substantial connecting with all those who have gone before or are following you.
With the help of a pocket knife, we’ll transform a raw branch into a splendid walking stick. If you have a knack for using a knife, you might even add intricate carvings and designs to your creation.
Once you’re content with your masterpiece, we’ll drill a hole and attach a vibrant, colorful rope to your walking stick for that finishing touch.
Hausgemacht is a dynamic mobile haven for handicrafts, crafts, and creative exploration in Belgium. Our mission is to guide people from all walks of life to shift from overthinking to hands-on crafting. In a world where reconnection with ourselves, natural elements, and one another is vital, we’re here to inspire you.
We prioritize utilizing residual materials as much as possible, respecting the Earth’s capacity. We believe that crafting unique and sustainable items with our hands can foster a happier world and a healthier planet.
For adults, our workshops offer a diverse array of craft techniques, including woodcarving, glasswork, textiles, and printing. Meanwhile, children have access to a plethora of basic play materials crafted from natural and recycled sources. This encourages imaginative play, where creativity knows no bounds. Our creative workshops introduce kids to upcycling and the use of natural materials while they play, all rooted in the principles of crafts and handicraft techniques.
Take a seat (together with your child) at an embroidery table and embroider without compromise, without prescribed rules or patterns.
Our tables were specially designed for small children to embroider on in a simple way. We find the ‘doing’ and the pleasure in doing it more important than the result.
We are organizing an open workshop where children and their parents/guardians build a joint project using wood.
Together, we bridge a fictional river. We build a real bridge from where we are now to where we want to go.
The bridge connects us with our fellow builders, but also with the place we want to be (get to).
Please note: parents/guardians are responsible for their children at all times and must remain present during the workshop.
