The Production Tour has taken Team MUD to vibrant Tunis where we dived into the modern art scene and entrepreneurial spirit. We collaborated with local artists to customize B choice jeans from our factory and met the entrepreneurs from tomorrow.
- Tunisian art scene
Since the Revolution in 2011 the art scene has in Tunisia has gained momentum. Over the past years, young street artists aim to brighten up the suburbs, at the same time deliver a message addressing topics such as pollution and women’s rights. Meanwhile young art projects popping up all over Tunis, causing a big boom in the art scene. We stepped into this booming movement and collaborated with some artists on our tour, customizing some B choice jeans and revealing the modern aspects of life in Tunisia.
- Meeting the most creative Tunisians
We set up our customizing project in the beautiful concept store Noa, owned by ceramic artist Nesrine. Surrounded by patterned ceramics, Tunisian handcrafted objects and paintings, the artists immediately catch the inspirational spark and start their work. Each of them has their own impressive story: Ahna (@a.h.n.a) followed her dream and quit her job as a computer engineer to come back to Tunisia and start her own art project. The painter Hela (@blanches_mains) will open her own exhibition in Dakar soon and was actually convinced to join us due to our sustainable DNA. They all have one element in common - creating a look in contrast to traditional Tunisian art, and this new way of thinking is reflected in all of their pieces. Both artists wouldn't look up from the jeans they were customizing until the late afternoon, when their families joined us for a sunny after hours on a beach terrace.
- Meeting the entrepreneurs of tomorrow
Entrepreneurship is on the rise in Tunisia and of course we are keen to support this development. Therefore, MUD Jeans founder Bert van Son gave an inspiring talk for 300 business students and answered an overwhelming amount of questions. Moreover, he joined a round table discussion at Lab'ess, a collaborative workspace that favours the launch of start-ups by creating an innovative network and stimulating exchange. There he shared his insights and experiences about how to create something new out of waste.
- Interview with the two Flayou founders and designers
We are greeted at the door by this incredible energetic woman with curly red hair and led into a beautiful atelier where we meet her husband Thomas. We are immediately drawn into the conversation, overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, their stories and the beautiful design objects all around. The centerpiece of their designs is the material, doesn't matter if it is the traditional Tunisian Terracotta, upcycled plastic bags from the shop around the corner, kitschy artisanal fabrics from the Medina or even chocolate. From these materials they design handcrafted board games, miniature buildings of Tunisia, cozy hammocks, funny chairs and much more. What is the core part of your design work? Our projects are designed to create fun and joy, we like to combine funny details with extraordinary materials. We are in love with every project, but that means we are never really finished and always develop them further. Like MUD Jeans, we are convinced that transparency is the key, so with each of our pieces we also want it to reflect the people behind it and to tell a story. The most important thing for us is our freedom in expression, for us there are no limits. Where do you get your inspiration from? We find inspiration basically everywhere we go and in everything we see, mostly when we walk around the streets of Tunis, and then come home and put all the impressions together in our atelier. What is your dream for the future? We already use our small kitchen for experimenting with materials, blend them, combine or decompose them, but it starts to get too intense for this.We dream of expanding our atelier and including a laboratory where we can do experiments with all different kinds of materials and can fully embrace all the possibilities.
