Making of: Lara Bohinc weaves her passions into Kasthall rug collection

Slovenian-born, London-based designer Lara Bohinc appears to have an unwavering affection for all things celestial, and her new rug collection for Kasthall is no exception.

Her collaboration with the Swedish textile company has produced two rugs: ‘East of the Moon’ and ‘West of the Sun’. Both rugs, which were presented during this year’s Salone del Mobile, are available in two sizes and four colour combinations. There will also be an additional two wall hangings.

The designs are inspired by Japanese Zen gardens and feature bold lines based on the gravel markings traditionally created to represent water ripples. For the rugs, Bohinc was keen to keep to four elegant colour palettes: rose, dove, earth and rust. The wall hangings allowed her to be more experimental and create a ‘piece of art’, based on the four palettes.

Each piece is made from organic wool, and handmade in Sweden using rigorous tufting processes. Wallpaper* went behind the scenes with Bohinc to get the inside scoop on the inspiration...

Wallpaper*: You mentioned that you looked to Japanese Zen gardens for inspiration – did you visit a particular one that you liked?
Lara Bohinc: I particularly observed the Zen garden at Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto. It features a lot of raked gravel, which represents ripples in the water. This directly influenced parallel circular lines in the design.

W*: What techniques were used, tufting, weaving etc?
LB: Only the tufting technique was used. There was no weaving. The rug was first tufted by a robot and then by hand. The wall hangings feature fringes which are completely handmade, and brass wall holders which provide its structure.

W*: How did you decide on colour palettes? What informed them?
LB: As the rugs were inspired by gardens, it seemed appropriate to use nature as the colour inspiration, that is why the colours are called rose, rust , earth and dove. Nature is a dominant influence on Kashthall’s colour scheme and I wanted to bring my designs closer to their traditional palette.

W*: In what way is the collection reflective of the rest of your practice?
LB: Like the rest of my practice, this collection is about deconstruction and reconfiguration of pure graphic forms, particularly of circles and arches. It is a mix of contradictions,: graphic yet fluid, bold yet light, geometric yet feminine.

A version of this story was originally featured in the May 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*242)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Lara Bohinc website and the Kasthall website