Issue 10: Ordinary Beauty, a new collection by OURY HOME
There was a time when even the most ordinary objects were made with remarkable attention. An apron could be carefully constructed. An edge finished with cutwork. A basket woven by hand. Things made simply to be used could still carry beautiful details, skilled work and the hand of the person who made them.
This became the starting point for Ordinary Beauty, our new collection.
While developing the collection, we kept returning to objects made for completely ordinary parts of life. Aprons made for working. Small textiles decorated with embroidery and cutwork. Woven baskets made for carrying and storing things. Simple objects shaped from wood. We kept coming back to the attention once given to even the simplest everyday objects. Decoration and practicality existed together. A useful object could still have a carefully finished edge, rows of pintucks, embroidery or an unexpected detail.
We wanted to look at that way of making again.
We looked to the past as a starting point, drawn to its forms, construction and attention to detail. These references found their way into objects made for everyday life today. The collection brings together white cotton aprons, cutwork and embroidery alongside handwoven willow and wood. Some references remain visible. Others have been simplified or changed through our own way of making. Vintage trims appear alongside newly cut cotton. Traditional techniques are used on new forms.
The result is a collection that carries some of this attention into the present.
Lightweight cotton poplin apron with a gathered shape, finished with vintage broderie anglaise trim and long waist ties. One size. Made to order in OURY Amsterdam atelier: 3–5 business days.
Long apron in lightweight white cotton, finished with delicate scalloped edges and a small OURY embroidery detail. One size
Made to order in OURY Amsterdam atelier: 3–5 business days.
Ordinary Beauty also introduces something new for OURY. Textile remains at the centre of what we do, while this collection begins to bring other materials and forms into the atelier. Wood appears for the first time. Basketry sits alongside cotton. A piece can belong to the home, be worn, carried or simply become part of everyday life. Rather than defining these objects by category, we were interested in what connects them: usefulness, simple forms and the evidence of making.
Handwoven willow basket with a lid and carrying handle, made in Ukraine in partnership with a local maker. Finished with a removable cotton liner made by OURY in Amsterdam.
Necklace made from oversized natural wooden beads, assembled on a sand-coloured vegan faux leather strap. Natural variations in the wood make each piece slightly unique.
Much of the collection is made to order and produced in small quantities. Aprons are cut, gathered, embroidered and finished individually. Cutwork is embroidered directly into cotton before being carefully cut by hand. Vintage trims mean that some pieces can only be produced in limited numbers. For the willow basket, the process extends beyond our Amsterdam atelier. The basket itself is handwoven in Ukraine in partnership with a local maker, while its fitted textile liner is developed and made by OURY.
Different materials and techniques come together throughout the collection, each approached with the same attention to how an object is made and used.
Different materials and techniques come together throughout the collection, each approached with the same attention to how an object is made and used.
Ordinary Beauty is a collection of pieces made to be used, worn and lived with — bringing old forms and ways of making into everyday life today.
