Who
Design School Kolding is one of Denmark's leading design universities and also internationally renown. The aim is to make an impact on the world through design. Design School Kolding is an independent institution under the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The school trains designers at undergraduate and graduate levels. The school has approx 340 students and a number of PhD students, including industrial PhD students. Every year, the school admits around 150 new students - 80 in the BA programme and 70 in the MA programme.
Design School Kolding X SPOOR
From tannery to studio:
Designskolen Kolding enters new collaboration with SPOOR
A new partnership has been formed between Kolding School of Design and Denmark’s last remaining tannery, SPOOR. The partnership supports the school’s vision of being responsible and leading in high-quality materials, while also giving students the opportunity to explore and understand the entire process from raw material to finished product.
SPOOR is known for its uncompromising focus on sustainability, transparency, and traceability throughout production. The tannery works actively to ensure that each piece of leather they produce can be traced back to its origin, guaranteeing that the materials have been produced under responsible conditions, with respect for both the environment and animal welfare.
In practice, this means that all animals arriving at SPOOR’s tannery are ear-tagged from birth and registered in a database containing information about the animal’s country of origin, birth date, and place of birth. The ear tag is later recorded on all hides using laser technology, allowing each hide to be traced back to the farm where the animal was born.
The collaboration takes place in the design studio
The collaboration between Kolding School of Design and SPOOR will be particularly felt in the school’s leather studio, where SPOOR provides materials for students to work with. Here, they can experiment and gain hands-on experience with high-quality materials, allowing them to develop new design solutions with a focus on sustainability.
This is a unique opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience with top-quality materials while also learning the importance of responsible material selection in the design process.
The initiative for the collaboration comes from former studio manager and now Ph.D. student, Line Rumhult. The partnership is part of a broader focus on bringing material understanding and sustainable craftsmanship traditions closer to design education. This is particularly important at a time when both designers and consumers demand full transparency in the production process. Line Rumhult elaborates:
– As designers, we have a responsibility to ensure transparency regarding the materials we use. SPOOR is a good example of this, as their leather goes through many refining stages, supported by a rich Scandinavian craft tradition. It’s crucial to respect the origin of materials and understand how they are created. This approach aligns with the craft traditions we want to pass on to our students, while also meeting the growing consumer demand for full transparency.
SPOOR shares the enthusiasm for the new collaboration:
– We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity that Kolding School of Design opened up for us. It’s a partnership that makes so much mutual sense. We can teach the students everything behind responsible Danish leather production – and the students get the chance to see the production up close. At the same time, we are challenged through a lot of feedback, questions, and co-creation with the students, who are the future of both Danish and international design, says SPOOR’s Business Development Director, Birgitte H. Langer.
Work in the leather studio will officially kick off when students in accessory design begin the course "Concept and Form Development" later this fall. Here, they will work with materials and shaping as part of their education.
The leather studio is open to all students who have been introduced to the machines and can be used for relevant projects.