From Fashion Weeks to Tapistery: a Creative Journey at it’s Best
Erika Schillebeeckx and Justine de Moriamé are the two women behind KRJST Studio an Artistique duo created in 2012 and based in Belgium, making contemporary tapestry among many other things.
“Even when we know it might just be a slippery idea, we can not stay away, we’ve got that little voice that tells us to go ahead and just try” smiles Erika broadly when speaking about the whole KRJST Studio adventure. “Everything is influenced by the people we’ve met, the directions they opened up for us. It’s always about a connexion with someone rather than a business plan”.
Erika Schillebeeckx and Justine de Moriamé are the two women behind KRJST Studio, an Artistique duo created in 2012 and based in Belgium making contemporary tapestry, among other things.
From art school to fashion week to tapestry
The two women met at La Cambre, a renowned visual arts school in Bruxelles, where they studied fashion design. It’s only in their last year there that they actually connected.
“We started hanging out, sharing some drinks at Place Flagey and wondering about what we wanted to do. One of our friends had an empty basement. It was more about starting a project where we could work together than starting a business” remembers Justine.
KRJST started out as a fashion brand. After presenting their first collection, they submitted an application for help to participate to the fashion week at WBDM. When that got accepted, everything started happening very fast.
“Suddenly we were in a business dimension. We had to create a business plan, collection and piece prices, calculate the margins, the production costs … It was total improvisation” Justine looks back. “We really started from scratch. We’ve invested the money we’ve made doing student jobs during summer. We had no cash flow whatsoever. It truly was an adventure”.
They ended up presenting five seasons in Paris, and that’s how their work with design and weaving style started. With each new collection they were learning.
But the fashion weeks were a lot of work, happening fast, too much for the two of them, yet not enough to hire a team. They got lucky because right at the moment it became too much to handle, multiple brands such as Eastpack, Huawei and McAlson contacted them asking for collaboration.
“That’s when we realized that everything we’ve learned and have been doing for clothing, we could do for so many other things, and we could become a design studio” relives Erika.
Opening up to possibilities: the KRJST Studio adventure
“We started developing techniques for the work with clothing. Moving to other things, like tapestry, was out of curiosity. We were working with a workshop allowing artists to experiment on the machines. The idea of modernizing an ancient technique, of mixing ancient and new, handcraft and hand embroidery, was very appealing. It wasn’t something that was planned. Like the rest of our journey, it was about following the people, the signs, the threads of life” points out Justine.
“Every little step felt like an achievement. For us, there wasn’t a key moment between recognition and no recognition. Every exhibition, gallery, collaboration, was a step forward in our journey”
Once this new path opened up, it all went very fast. They dropped the next fashion week quite abruptly and decided to organize their first exhibition in Bruxelles. They presented their very first mural tapestry, some of their clothes, all of the drawings for their designs and researches. “This exhibition was really a turning point for us. That’s when the KRJST Studio adventure truly began”.
Right after that, they got an order from Belfius bank and its big gallery. “We’ve built a whole exhibition called “Recollection”. That’s when we really started to be defined more as art design architecture rather than fashion”.
Even now, years back, they can not pinpoint a specific moment for true success. “It was very gradual. Every little step felt like an achievement. For us, there wasn’t a key moment between recognition and no recognition. Every exhibition, gallery, collaborations, was a step forward in our journey” explains Justine.
A path paved with obstacles first, but then people
Money was always the biggest obstacle in their path. Because at the end of the day, the bills need to be paid, the rent sorted, food put on the table. “This means that sometimes you have to make certain choices and give up certain things” ventures Erika.
Justine adds “network was a difficulty at the beginning. We didn’t come from this sphere, we didn’t have any contacts.
“Every time, it’s about meeting people who we trust and who trust us, and moving forward with them”
This is build step by step, contact by contact. “It was about meeting people, connexions. Being able to have an exhibition at the Fondation Boghossian was big, they were a huge help. Jonathan Kugel, from the galerie Art Sablon, Jean Francois Declerq from Ateliers Jespers and Kolkhoze, helped us to develop. Then coming to Zaventem, meeting Lionel Jadot and the whole team here, it completely changed our perception. We got a workshop, separated private from professional, build our company. The whole Silver Square team is so important in what we are building now. Every time, it’s about meeting people who we trust and who trust us, and moving forward with them” explains Erika.
The curiosity of creation
And this ability to listen and to move in a flow is important for their inspiration as well. “We often tell ourselves that we work like magnets. We attract everything around us, everything we see. Our inspiration comes from everyday life, from nature, from our curiosity for anything and everything” reflects Justine.
“Our favorite part of our job is to be able to concentrate on creation. To be just the two of us in the workshop, switch off the computer and the phones, and just talk and build the tapestries or drawings of news projects. To have this synergy between us, to be present in the moment of creation. And sometimes it's hard to set aside the time, because there’s so much to do, everything is happening fast” underlines Erika.
Textil, furniture and the future
And indeed, the projects are just lining up. “Thanks to the people we’ve met at Silver Square, we are building now a furniture collection, which will be presented next May at the Collectible fair” smiles Justine.
“It will be furniture where Textil has a big part to play. It will be called R. S. L.T” (like “Revolver Sur La Tempe”, meaning Gun On Your Temple). “We are now working on the website, the communication. The goal is to invite a lot of other designers and artists to create together. A sort of collective of designers, architects, artists, all working on quality, surprising and local furniture” explains further Erika.
“It’s something new for us, very exciting and full of surprises. The idea of putting everything together and collaborating with others in the future is thrilling. It’s something else. And one of the many projects that we have going at the moment” finishes Justine happily.
