The global economic and environmental crisis is creating momentum for designers to challenge the current “linear economy” based on a take-make-waste model, and explore sustainable strategies, services and systems. Within this arena, textile artisanship is becoming an interesting opportunity for opening up micro-enterprises, addressing the complex challenges posed by future trends (e.g. slow consumption, alternative economies, redistributed manufacturing, flexible production, circular economy, advanced artisanship, design entrepreneurship and enabling ecosystems). In particular, this research is focused on textile artisans’ communities, bottom-up and human-centred aggregations engaged in giving form and meaning to local natural fibres, by hands or by directly controlling mechanised and digital tools, and managing the process of making culturally and socially significant apparel. With this in mind, a theoretical framework has been developed, outlining barriers, enablers and a sustainable manifesto for textile artisans’ communities. Service design is here proposed as a key approach within this scenario, due to its user-centric, relational and systemic strength to co-create tangible and intangible value towards holistic sustainability. Using service design methods, participatory action research is pursued to empower artisans’ communities, co-design collaborative services and scale up innovations within an enabling ecosystem. The overall aim of this research is to explore how service design can encourage textile artisans’ communities towards a sustainable future, providing social engagement, rescuing cultural heritage, boosting economic development and enhancing environmental stewardship.

1. empowering
co-designing
scaling:
a service design model
for the sustainable future
of textile artisans’ communities
Loughborough Design School | AHRC Design Star
supervisors: Dr MC Escobar-Tello, Dr VA Mitchell
Francesco Mazzarella, PhD researcher

2. index
research problem
aim
scope
methodology
studies
conclusions

3. research problem
the global economic and
environmental crisis is posing
complex challenges

4. redistributed
manufacturing
circular
economy
flexible
production
alternative
economies

5. slow
consumption
advanced
artisanship
designer
entrepreneur
enabling
ecosystems

6. to explore how service design
can contribute to encourage
textile artisans’ communities
towards a sustainable future
aim

7. scope
material
by hands
machinery
digital tools
bottom-up
skills, quality
human control
material culture
local, natural
discarded fibres
textiles & fashion
artisan
community
local business
small batches
flexible
local market
tool making

8. PAR methodology
2A
act
sustainable
future trends for TAC
reflect
barriers,
enablers,
sustainable
manifesto
plan
map TAC &
future trends
plan
sampling strategy,
study protocol,
pilot
reflect
impact
of service design
model
2Cto develop
theoretical
framework for
sustainable
future for
TAC
conclusions
& discussion
to develop
flexible service design
model of co-designing
collaborative services
for sustainable TAC
to empower
TAC
to co-design
a collaborative
serviceto scale up
innovations
within enabling
ecosystem
1B
1C
1A main studies
evaluation
scoping
study
2B act
sustainable
future trends for TAC
TAC:
textile artisans’ communities

9. service design methodsdiscover
define
develop
deliver
focus group
interviews
shadowing
contextual
interviews
brainstorming
participatory
design
workshop
stakeholders map
ecosystem canvas
servive blueprint
user centred, relational, systemic process of co-creation of
tangible and intangible values to encourage holistic sustainability

10. challenging sustainable futuresdiscover
focus group
interviews
shadowing
experts’ focus group shadowing
semi-structured interviews

11. theoretical framework
a sustainable manifesto
for textile artisans’ communities
Shift the focus from aesthetics to ethics, from style to quality meanings;
Ethical labour and rights must be set: less bad is not good;
Textile artisanship stands as a slow reaction to fast fashion;
Textiles are interconnected to their wholeness: materials, processes,
people, places;
Being vs. having, learning from nature and acknowledging the unpredictable;
Manage connectivity within local communities, as collective wisdom and
social act of collaboration;
Design as political agent, embracing diversity as resource, weaving
synergies among different assets;
Scale up open initiatives within peer-to-peer networks at a glocal scale;
Understand the root system and trigger holistic and systemic change,
from micro to macro scales;
Build an enabling ecosystem: complex, adaptive infrastructure supported
by polycentric governance.
barriers enablers
Dominance of financial structures based
on profits;
Lack of time & efforts to develop
alternative models;
Lack of skills;
Export of machinery and outsource of
production;
Lack of interest for young people in craft
production;
Endangered craft heritage;
Consumers’ misperception of quality;
Over-consumption;
Lack of information on textiles, artisans
and sustainability challenges;
Lack of sustainability uptake;
Lack of training in strategies/management/
entrepreneurship in design curricula.
Change of mindset (systemic thinking);
Interconnected
design-artisanship-academia
-policy-consumers;
Cultural empathy with artisans;
Metatools, flexible, collaborative, reflective;
Storytelling to elicit and convey engaging
meanings;
Empowerment models: access to
information, awareness, ability,
independency;
Development of sustainable business
models;
Technological advancements.

12. PAR strategy
participatory
action
research
to develop a flexible
service design model
of co-designing
collaborative services,
encouraging textile
artisans’ communities
towards a sustainable future
new york
cape town
nottingham
to empower
a heritage artisans’ community
to scale up
a cutting-edge artisans’ ecosystem
to co-design
with contemporary artisans

13. storytelling with
nottingham lace artisansdefine
contextual
interviews
brainstorming
Kula Tsurdiu
bridal dresses
leavers lace
shawls
knitting lace
jewellery
embroidered lace
G H Hurt & Son Ltd
JC Middlebrook

14. initial findings
g h hurt & son ltd
storytelling with
nottingham lace artisans
photo-diaries SWOT analysis of ideas
challenges & opportunities to move towards a sustainable future

15. next...
community
develop
deliver
participatory
design
workshop
stakeholders map
ecosystem canvas
servive blueprint
1 day participatory design workshop:
co-designing a sustainable future
for nottingham lace artisans
organisatio
ns
design
ers
consumers

16. textile artisans’ communities
can contribute to a sustainable
development
rescue cultural heritage provide social engagement
encourage economic development enhance environmental stewardship

17. questions ?
f.mazzarella@lboro.ac.uk
francesco.mazzarella10
Francesco Mazzarella