[SAM
VAN ESBROECK]
Teacher
Educator
Artist
I've spent my life working with fibre — weaving, sewing, knitting, spinning — as well as paint and clay. I trained in applied arts, studied art education, and hold a diploma in fashion and textile design. I also hold the Austrian master craftsperson's title in tailoring (Meistertitel in Schneiderei). Over the years I've built theatre costumes, worked in clothing and hat production, taught art, led workshops, and advised on materials and colour for fashion and interior projects.
Studio Achterkant is where all of this comes together — a queer-owned studio for people who care about how things are made, and what happens to them afterwards. Here the pieces tell a story.
About the name: it started with clothes I made for my partner, who kept wearing them the wrong way around — so I wrote "Achterkant" — back side — into the pieces. I've been sewing for a lot of different people, and as it turns out most of them can use a little help finding the back of their garments. At some point, the word simply became the brand.
Making well, for me, means two things: using no more material than a piece needs, and thinking about its life after it leaves the studio — how it can be repaired, altered, passed on, kept out of the bin for as long as possible. That will be a big topic in my classes, too.
I also just like sharing what I know. The studio is meant to be a space for exchange — workshops, conversations, making things together. We don't gatekeep knowledge at Studio Achterkant.
If any of this resonates, I'd love to hear from you.