Rethinking Textile Waste: Nicole Kudla on the Art of Weaving, Material Intuition, and the Form That Emerges from Scraps
The SYMCRAFT project focuses on the question of how industrial byproducts can be viewed not as waste, but as a valuable resource for craft and design processes. This shift in perspective opens up new possibilities, particularly in the textile sector: materials left over from production processes can serve as the starting point for new forms, objects, prototypes, and creative experiments.
A particularly exciting approach to this topic is explored in the course “Finding Form Through Material—Experimental Design with Textile Scraps, ” which artist and weaver Nicole Kudla will lead in July at the Textile Center Haslach. The course is part of the 2026 Haslach Textile Culture Summer Symposium, which focuses on “Rethinking Textile Waste,” and invites participants to work with textile scraps not according to a predetermined plan, but rather to let the material itself guide them.
Nicole Kudla lives and works in the Mühlviertel region. She discovered basket weaving through classes in Haslach and Tyrol—where, she says, “a whole new world opened up” for her: the world of different weaving techniques, materials, and artisanal possibilities. Since then, she has been deeply engaged with traditional techniques, unusual found objects, and materials that often reveal their potential only at second glance.
"For me, it's like this: I like to dig up these old techniques and adapt them to the present."
During our conversation, it becomes clear that Nicole Kudla perceives materials in a very immediate way. Color, feel, texture, and form play a central role. She works not only with traditional weaving materials such as willow, but also with paper, wire, plant fibers, stinging nettles, selvedges, and textile scraps. She is particularly interested in the unfinished, the random, and the seemingly useless.
“I love finding materials at a recycling center—ones that somehow speak to me, whether through their shape, texture, or color—and bringing them to life. This includes classic wicker basket weaving, which has its own charm, but also experimenting to see what’s possible. How far can I go with this material I’ve just discovered? Whether it’s wire or a woven edge,”she says in the interview.
The course title “Find the Form Through the Material” describes this approach exactly. It is not the finished idea that comes first, but the material. Participants are encouraged to experiment, play, observe, and engage with unfamiliar materials. The goal is not necessarily to create a clearly defined functional object. Rather, a form, an object, a basket-like creation, or a free artistic work may emerge—depending on what the material allows and what develops during the process.
This approach aligns particularly well with the SYMCRAFT philosophy: textile scraps are viewed not only as a technical resource, but also as a starting point for new forms of collaboration between industry, craftsmanship, and design. The course demonstrates how textile scraps can be given new value—not only through product development, but also through a fresh perspective on materials, the circular economy, and craft processes.
For Nicole Kudla, this perspective is also a personal stance. She explains that she is reluctant to buy new materials, preferring instead to work with what is already available. Textile waste, selvedges, and fabric scraps are thus not seen as a shortcoming, but as an invitation: What can be gained from them? How does the material behave? Where do challenges arise, and where do opportunities lie?
It is precisely this openness that she wants to pass on to the course participants. They should bring or discover materials that appeal to them—regardless of whether it’s already clear what will come of them. A central idea of the course is therefore to let go of the expectation that every result must be immediately usable or practical. “A lot can come of it when you simply allow yourself to experiment,” says Nicole Kudla, summing up this approach.
The course “Find the Form Through the Material” will take place from July 21 to 24, 2026, at the Textile Center in Haslach. It is aimed at anyone who is curious, enjoys experimenting, and wants to understand the material as a partner in the design process. No prior experience is required—what’s needed is an open mind, curiosity, and a willingness to engage with unconventional materials. The course is already fully booked, but this clearly demonstrates just how relevant and inspiring the topic of “rethinking textile waste” is for crafts, design, and the circular economy.