08. august 2013 17:30

The 3D stone textiles by textile designer Liivi Leppik are loved by many – they can be seen decorating homes and offices all over the world. How was the stone textile born? The uniqueness of the 3D textiles has also been registered in the International Encyclopedia of Textiles. Stone textile is a perfect alternative to photos and paintings.

I discovered the stone textile by Liivi Leppik by chance hanging on the wall of a furniture salon at the same time with my upcoming jubilee. I fell in love with the picture and asked my friends to give me two white ones as a present for my birthday. They still offer a strong interior accent for my home and delight all my guests. I especially like the sparkle of the fabric when it happens to be under direct sunlight. In the winter it is possible to use artificial spotlight to make the brilliance stand out. At first, many people concider the stones to be hard but after touching them they are surprised to find out that the stones are soft, instead. Now, after a couple of years, I decided to inquire Liivi about the initial birth and the present situation of the stone textile.

Golden 3D Stone Textile by Liivi Leppik
Photo: Liivi Leppik

The idea of the stone textile began to develop in the early Spring of 2006, when Liivi noticed a photo with beach stones at a textile exhibition in Frankfurt. She imagined the stones to be real and three-dimensional extending a bit beyond the frame. And if only those stones could be seen in all different dream colours… At first it felt unbelievable, but on the way home the idea seemed more and more doable. With suspense, the designer tried to put the idea into practice, and that is how she managed to create a framed picture of 3D soft fabric which was able to hold its shape. The first stone grey textile pictures were displayed at the Tallinn Interior Exhibition in 2006 and they became objects of keen interest among the visitors.

Dark Grey 3D Stone Textile by Liivi Leppik
Foto: Liivi Leppik

The project developed further, and encouraged by many people, Liivi registered the 3D stone textile in the Estonian Patent Office. In the same year, the steel grey stone textile was displayed in the exhibition of the Estonian Design Award. As mentioned above, the stone textile can also be found in the International Encyclopedia of Textiles.
The steel grey piece was displayed at the Lahti Biennale exhibition in Finland in 2011 and now it is located at the Estonian House in Helsinki in a permanent display.

Inspired by Nature

Inspiration can be found all around us – forms with structure are inspiriting, and they make an artist want to record their beauty into fabric. Another way to broaden one`s horizon is to travel with eyes open. It was possible to gain a lot of knowledge about natural colours at a grand exhibition of incredibly beautiful mineral stones in the Royal Museum of Toronto in Canada. Anything is possible – the number of surprising natural colours is infinite.

A Month of Handwork

According to Liivi it is very exciting to design unique 3D textiles, whether they are first visioned by herself or by a client. The result is always a positive surprise because stones of the same shade have an extremely calming effect. In order to make a 3D textile, the designer uses 100% polyester fabric, which can be thermally processed to make it hold its new shape. The processed 3D textile is fixed on a plastic pannel and framed for final finishing. The stone textile is a labour-intensive work of handicraft, which usually takes 3-6 weeks, and it can be made in any colour.. even golden.

IA Perfect Alternative to Photoes and Paintings

The 3D textile pictures are perfect for modern interiors. They fit well into homes as well as formal surroundings, they are suitable to give as impressive gifts to somebody who appreciates originality. The finished product is light in weight and comfortable to send by mail. It is possible to place them on the wall as a single decoration or in groups of two or even three.

Easy to Care For

As the pictures are usually made of shiny fabrics, which do not collect much dust then all that is needed is to go over them with a big dust brush from time to time.

Reed Coloured 3D Stone Textile by Liivi Leppik
Photo: Liivi Leppik

Special Orders Bring Joy

Liivi is also inspired by people who dare to dream and order textile stones in their own favourite colours. One young woman, for example, ordered the “stones” in pure white, another one, on the other hand, in greenish reed colour.

It was especially nice when one of the clients ordered a copper brown picture and asked modestly if it was possible to make it seem as a wave had just gone over the stones. And so, Liivi has always tried to make sure that the appearance of her works would not be too neat but rather natural, although the stones do sometimes come in quite surreal colours. The latest order came from Switzerland. The gentleman asked for textile stones in the colour of kerosene – after a brief explanation it became evident that he meant sparkling sea blue.

Sea Blue 3D Stone Textile by Liivi Leppik
Photo: Liivi Leppik

Stone textiles have found their way to Finland, Sweden, Norway, England, Denmark, Italy, Canada, USA, Singapore, and New Zealand. This brings the artist true joy.

Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder And Imagination Has No Limits

It is possible to create a 3D effect also for large curtain textiles – sheer organza appears charmingly fluffy and light with its structured water pattern flowing down like a water fall. Everything starts with an idea which grows up to become a project, that is how looking for artistic solutions leads to inspiring textiles in different techniques. Using these different textile techniques together it is possible to create amazing spacial pictures.
The sea blue stone textile and a few other designer pieces from the more recent collection can be seen soon in the jubilee exhibition in the National Library of Estonia from September 10 to October 16.
The piece called The Sun Catcher was inspired by our long Winter – so that there would be enough sunshine in the room all the time.

The Sun Catcher by Liivi Leppik Shines Throughout the Year
Photo: Liivi Leppik