about me

Picture of aster wearing a black turtleneck and a bright yellow apron.

I was born on a Wednesday in 1991. Two years later, my sister stole my thunder by arriving the day before my birthday and we’ve been a close-knit duo ever since. Some twenty-two years after that, I graduated from theatre studies at Utrecht University, having previously studied costume design at Utrecht School of Arts. I’ve always worked alongside my studies, amongst other things as a vegan chef. Since then, I’ve integrated the durational aspects of embroidery into slow recipes and fermentation, be it sourdough, plant-based cheesemaking with mould (the good kind), or various fermented drinks.

CV

work & experience:

My sister and I worked together as vegan caterers named Zus&Zo from 2009-2021. I still work as one of her support people and as co-director of her daily support network.

Past projects and designs are featured on the portfolio page, including my final thesis with the abstract. A more encompassing summary of my MA thesis was published in the 9th issue of Danswetenschap in Nederland.

Over the past decade, making clothes has slowly evolved from a personal interest to a larger ambition to create sustainable, durable, personal items for myself and those around me through sewing, knitting, mending and alterations. It’s also expanded into other areas of artistic homemaking, including knife sharpening, soapmaking and care products, inspired by a fascination with how the basic neccesities of living were made in the past.

education:

Utrecht University (UU) — MA Theatre Studies, 2015-2016 (3.81 GPA)

Utrecht School of Arts (HKU) — BA Theatre Design, 2009-2013 (with Honours)

Christelijk Gymnasium Utrecht (CGU) — 2003-2009

other:

IELTS says that my English is as good as it can get according to their test: Band 9, Expert User. My French and German are nowhere near as good, but I did take them in high school. My Spanish is purely fictional.