Hello, I’m Tessa.

My background lies in leather crafts and bag design, but in 2020, after feeling my work slowly shifting for two years, I decided to fully redirect my focus to another passion: food.

I love exploring different ways of eating, and I find my inspiration in connecting with the world around me through the sense of touch. How we eat, to me, is just as significant as what we eat. Through the art of multisensory food experiences and tableware design, I seek to shift perspectives and craft new narratives.

A fascination with the effects of tactile interactions, has led me to adopt a touch-centric approach in my work. I strongly believe in the transformative power of storytelling and ritual, and I aim to educate through experience.

The driving force behind the global challenges we face, as I see it, is disconnection – from our bodies, ecosystems, and communities. I use food and the sense of touch as bridges to restore these vital connections. They are my antidote to the fast-paced world of today.

My vision is a more conscious and connected approach to eating, guiding us towards a slower, softer, and more ecologically attuned way of being and relating.

Currently, I am exploring interspecies kinship and care through food fermentation; and ways to nurture skin hunger beyond interhuman touch.

♡

Training & Education

Yoga of Food Masterclass
Charles x Michel
Malinalco, MX
2023

Product Design
ArtEZ University of the Arts
Arnhem, NL
2018 - 2022

Back to the Land
Sustainable food systems course
Konstfack
Hjulsjö, SE
2022

Ecology of Food Masterclass
Charles x Michel
Bordeaux, FR
2023

Food Research Internship
Future Consumer Lab, University of Copenhagen
Copenhagen, DK
2021

Design Internship
Ree Projects
Amsterdam, NL
2018

Creative Craftsmanship
Hout en Meubileringscollege
Amsterdam, NL
2013 - 2017 

Shows & Exhibitions

Pareidolia
Graduation Exhibition ArtEZ
Arnhem, NL
2023

Product Design Exhibition
Galerie Marzee
Nijmegen, NL
2019   

Architecture in Fashion
Feeric Fashion Week
Sibiu, RO
2018

HvE Leather Design Award Exhibition
Kunst Centrum Haarlem
Haarlem, NL
2018

Design District
Van Nelle Factory
Rotterdam, NL
2018

Masterly, The Dutch in Milano
Milan Design Week
Milan, IT
2017 & 2018

Meesterlijk, Design & Ambacht
Westergasfabriek
Amsterdam, NL
2016 & 2017

Design District
Hembrugterrein
Zaandam, NL
2016 & 2017

© Tessa Straver, 2023