Simone Howe

Passementier

©Christina Krueger

©Simone Howe

©Christina Krueger

©Simone Howe

Reviving the ancient art of passementerie

Simone is a specialist in reproducing historical designs
She revives the use of traditional techniques and tools
She has dedicated over 25 years to her craft

At the beginning, weaving on the loom, rope making and passementerie were just hobbies for Simone Howe . As the years passed, spending time reconstructing historical works, unearthing long forgotten techniques and reinventing them, the craft became both her life passion and profession. In 1996, after two years in front of a screen working in textile design, Simone Howe joined Posamenten Müller in Munich, famed for its decorative trimmings. The fruitful collaboration lasted for 23 years. In 2019, Simone Howe moved to Leipzig and started her own workshop under the label Howe Home, supplying Institutions such as museums and private customers alike, with high quality passementerie.

Interview

©Christina Krueger

©Christina Krueger

Is your craft connected with a particular region?: No, actually it is not really connected to a geographical region, but rather to a certain period in time or taste. The demand for my products comes from all over Europe, primarily for castles, theatres and museums.
Do you use innovative methods to create trimmings?: I try to include modern materials and techniques like 3D-printers in my working process to optimize the single steps. However, for small quantities and individual productions this is not really necessary or reasonable. Often the traditional techniques are much faster.
What is the most satisfying part of your work?: There are several such aspects, but one is certainly when I have managed to find out how something was done in the past, so that I can reproduce it today with the same quality. A lot of knowledge about traditional techniques has been lost.
Do you worry this loss of tradition will continue?: Yes, so many techniques have been lost and also the tools are no longer produced today. Therefore, it is one of my goals to rebuild historical tools in collaboration with other craftsmen, maybe even to improve them a little bit.

Simone Howe is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1996