Born in the Netherlands, Frans Dijkmeijer (1936 – 2011) was a master weaver and textile designer. He studied at the Academy of Industrial Design in Eindhoven, before working for established textile brands. His relationship with Kvadrat began in 1992 and led to a substantial body of innovative upholstery textiles, including Colline, Steelcut and Steelcut Trio.

 

The possibilities of materials and weaving techniques were Dijkmeijer’s primary sources of inspiration. He perceived fibres, colours and textures as an organic whole, where a single change in process could transform the overall expression of a textile. Achieving harmony between these elements was fundamental to his designs. His studio functioned as a laboratory where he constantly experimented with solutions to problems of his own creation, producing textiles that combine technical complexity with an almost mathematical clarity.

 

Beyond the loom, Dijkmeijer’s home and studio in Cestayrols, France, set within a castle, offered a deeply personal landscape for his creative life. There, studio, dwelling and garden merged into a single environment shaped by his vast collections of objects, plants, furnishings, music and art. Marked by recurring forms and subtle variations, this personal world resonated closely with his method of non-identical repeats at the loom. It reveals a more intimate portrait of Dijkmeijer: not only as a master weaver, but as a sensitive collector whose surroundings quietly informed the refinement of his work.

 

Frans Dijkmeijer’s extraordinary archive of work was donated to Kvadrat after his death and continues as an enduring resource for Kvadrat’s textile developments.