Ysaline Ophoff

Atelier Balancê

Basketweaver

©Nicholas Hannes

©Patrick Shah

Side by side for contemporary basketry

Ysaline left behind a career in architecture for an exploratory journey into basketry
She learnt specific weaving techniques from Brazilian and Portuguese master artisans
Her sculptural pieces blend traditional basketry techniques with contemporary architectural forms

Ysaline Ophoff left her life as an architect when she realised she did not want to spend so much time behind a computer. Moving from Belgium to Brazil to work for an NGO located in the Amazon, she discovered basketry through one of the associations' projects that helps basketweavers develop their business by setting up collaborations with Brazilian designers. “It felt so right to be working with artisans and using local resources,” says Ysaline. Later, she moved to the South of Portugal where she learnt palm weaving with the empreita de palma technique. This is where she founded Atelier Balancê. “My atelier pays tribute to slowness and calls for ecological awareness,” she explains. By applying basketry techniques to make modern architectural pieces, Ysaline hopes to shine a light on crafts that are mainly practised by older generations and deserve to be passed on.

Interview

©Nicholas Hannes

When did you start to learn basketry techniques?: I was first taught during my work in the Amazon with the NGO Casa do Rio where master artisans Dona Antonia and Dona Maria shared basket weaving techniques with me. After this, I went to live in Pará and spent time working alongside Dona Sônia. They were all very generous with their knowledge and showed me how to use different plant fibres.
What motivated you to open your workshop in the Algarve?: I learnt the palm weaving technique called empreita de palma with an amazing master artisan Manuela who learnt everything from her aunt. This tradition is being lost in the Algarve. I wanted to do something to revive it, to engage with the place like a humble request for acceptance.
How do you integrate your training as an architect into your basketweaving?: I learn, practise and try to understand various basketweaving techniques which I then apply to other materials with different characteristics. In this process I adopt certain gestures learnt with my masters to create more architectural and modern decorative shapes.
Could you share a little about your creative process?: Actually, I like to work intuitively and very often I do not know how the piece will look in the end. It evolves while I am working on it. Sometimes I start with an initial idea and during the making process this completely changes. Indeed sometimes the material dictates the way.

Ysaline Ophoff is a rising star: she began her career in 2020 and she started teaching in 2022