KNOTTO

KNOTTO works directly with craft practitioners rather than about them. Through open-call residencies, we pair European designers with master artisans (Artisanal Intelligence: five designers, five Japanese master artisans), and we run hands-on workshops open to the public. In Belgium, we are connected to craft-promoting associations (Duos en Résonance, Fiber School), schools and universities (La Cambre Textile, UCLouvain Saint-Luc Architecture) and heritage venues (Maison Hannon). Our work combines craftsmanship, design and research: ancestral know-how is documented, tested with contemporary designers and made visible to the public, so that craft is treated as a living practice to sustain.

KNOTTO works with natural, locally rooted and heritage materials. In textile: nettle and other natural fibres (extraction and processing), linen, plant-based dyeing, Japanese indigo and kasuri weaving techniques, banana-fibre textile, and the reactivation of heritage textile machinery. In architecture: timber and other natural building materials, explored with Japanese carpenters and European architects. The common thread is material intelligence: understanding what a material can do through the hands of those who master it, within circular practices such as repair, upcycling and reuse.

KNOTTO engages emerging designers, makers and students through open calls, residencies, workshops and public conferences, always in direct contact with experienced artisans. Within Craftwork 4.0 All, we will relay the platform’s calls and opportunities to our Belgian and international network of designers, artisans, schools and cultural institutions. We will also host or co-organise workshops, talks and showcasing events in Belgium, and connect platform members with our partners in Europe and Japan. We bring a practical, hands-on approach to engagement: bringing people into the same room, around the same material.

- Open-call residencies pairing European designers with master artisans
- Touring exhibitions (Osaka, Kyoto, Riga, Brussels; Vienna and Armenia upcoming) and a 35-minute documentary
- Conference series (10 speakers across Kyoto, Osaka and Brussels) and public talks, including the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026 (panel “From Algorithm to Artisan”)
- Hands-on workshops (e.g. Natural Fibre Workshop, 2026)
- Publications and field research on Japanese craft ecosystems (since 2023)
- Cultural diplomacy and consortium building with universities and research departments (Creative Europe, EIT Culture & Creativity)

- Artisanal Intelligence (2025–2026): curated for the EU Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, supported by the EEAS, followed by a European tour.
- Fragments of Japan (2024): exhibition and publication on KNOTTO’s Japan field research, hosted at the Embassy of Japan in Brussels.
- Natural Fibre Workshop (2026): hands-on workshop that led to the REVIVE collaboration.
- REVIVE (in development): nettle-fibre project with La Cambre Textile and UCLouvain Saint-Luc Architecture.
- Artisanal Intelligence 2.0 Architecture strands, and Ancestral Innovations (heritage textile machinery, Roubaix): proposals submitted or in preparation, funding decisions pending.

- Belgium: La Table Ronde de l’Architecture (INTBAU Belgium), Duos en Résonance, Promethea ASBL, MAD Brussels, hub.brussels, Wallonie-Bruxelles Design Mode, Belgium-Japan Association & Chamber of Commerce, various universities and high schools of the arts.
- Europe: Materahub (IT), ArtEZ (NL), Aalto University (FIN), ENSAIT (FR), La Manufacture de Roubaix (FR), Schloss Hollenegg (AU), Vienna Design Week (AU), Riga Bourse Museum (LAT), EIT Culture & Creativity community (AU)
- Japan: Japan Foundation, City of Kyoto, Kurume Kasuri Association, Re:Public, Kyoto Design Week, Fujimoto Carpentry, Nishimura Gumi
- Institutional: European External Action Service (EEAS); Embassy of Japan in Belgium (endorsement of our NEB Festival event for the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations)