Nina Fradet

Hinn Studio

Weaver

©Xavier Prevot

©Fumi Shimomura

©Nina Fradet

Bending conventions

Nina believes science and arts are intrinsically connected
She likes raw materials with rough edges
She is guided by the way the material accepts to take shape, or not

Nina Fradet is a French-born furniture maker specialised in braiding techniques and traditional Japanese takezaiku bamboo weaving. Her research around these techniques enabled her to develop a unique style at the crossroads of different cultures and crafts. Her combined know-how brings her to create intricate objects that mix tradition and innovation, weaving either solid wood or bamboo by bending the material through steaming processes. Nina's pieces, sometimes functional, sometimes abstract, completely turn away from the forms and uses usually associated with furniture making or bamboo basketwork. The flow between these different fields come together around an inherent sense of Nina's gestures and expressiveness.

Interview

©Xavier Prevot

©Xavier Prevot

Is your craft related to a sense of place?: I have worked in France, Japan and Iceland. It is precisely the cultural aspect that interests me in each of the workshops I have visited. I take care to work with local materials. This approach allows me to continue learning while writing a different story for each creation.
Which specific techniques do you master?: Along with cabinetmaking, I use a traditional Japanese bamboo basketry technique called takezaiku. Takezaiku is about specific braiding patterns as well as how bamboo is prepared before braiding. Marrying these two skills allowed me to develop my technique of weaving solid wood.
Can you describe what you do exactly?: I seek to build a relationship between cabinetmaking and takezaiku. I like to create works in which the material speak louder than the technique.
Could you share something surprising about your work?: Bamboo weaving requires preparing each of the strands to the nearest tenth of a millimetre, in width and in thickness, from the whole bamboo. The process of preparing the material is much longer than the braiding itself, but it is decisive for the quality of the finished object, which will depend on the regularity of the strands.

Nina Fradet is a rising star: she began her career in 2018