In the Studio with Sitoë Thiam

At Shop Mingei, we seek out artists and brands whose work reflects the creativity and care at the heart of Mingei's mission. From local artisans to makers across the globe, each product tells a story of craft and design.

Fiber artist and mechanical engineer Sitoë Thiam is the founder of Unknot, a fiber design studio exploring the possibilities of knotting and weaving through functional design, traditional techniques, and unexpected materials. Drawing on her background in engineering and art, Sitoë brings experimentation and resourcefulness to practices with deep historical roots, designing her own looms, transforming discarded materials, and finding new ways to make fiber arts accessible.

Sitoë is also a frequent collaborator with Mingei. Her work is carried in Shop Mingei, she has led Make at Mingei workshops, and she currently leads our Knot Together series. In many ways, her practice embodies the Mingei philosophy, and we’re proud to support a contemporary maker bringing imagination and innovation to the enduring traditions of handmade craft.

We spoke with Sitoë about the relationship between function and beauty, finding value in discarded materials, the renewed interest in making by hand, and how curiosity continues to shape her practice.

Traditional knotting and weaving techniques have existed for generations. What excites you about bringing those practices into a contemporary context?

A couple things! The first is that I’m able to introduce these techniques, macramé especially, to a younger audience. I’ve spoken to so many peers and younger folks who’ve never heard of macramé! Or, they have a very specific image of macramé as “70’s boho decor” with no other aesthetic reference points. I’m happy I can help educate people on the lineage of macramé, from its roots in North Africa and China, to the many incredible macramé artists today, like Janis Ledwell-Hunt, Jim Olarte, or Windy Chien. I want to encourage people to explore this medium to expand what they believe is possible within it and make it their own!

It also excites me that I can apply current technology to ancient techniques. I design and 3D print looms to weave my Unknot bags! These looms help me weave in the round; they fuse basket-weaving techniques with Depression-era loop looms. I love that tech has made this kind of tool-making and process-altering more accessible!

How has working with found materials changed the way you think about beauty, value, and sustainability?

I like to craft bags because they offer both function and beauty. There is a shortlist of common materials we use to craft them (think leather, cotton, or rattan). These legacy materials have had eons to demonstrate their functional and aesthetic value to us. They are pliant, lightweight, and strong enough to hold our possessions. So we take them and can shape them into works of art or signs of taste and cultural cachet that still perform the base function of carrying our weight. 

For the last year, I’ve been crafting a series of bags out of trash and secondhand materials called Trash Bags. By crafting with trash, I want to demonstrate that our discards still hold value. I choose to find use and beauty in waste by dedicating time and care to shape it into an object we recognize as valuable.

Creating Trash Bags has shifted my view of trash as a potential resource for new materials. It feels hopeful to look at the tons of waste we produce every moment and see possibility. But, working with these materials has also cemented my understanding that a shift to a more circular culture and economy must begin before the waste is created.

Mingei’s recent exhibit, Restitched, did a beautiful job of highlighting an example of circularity. During the Great Depression and through WWII, people would repurpose their empty grain bags into quilts and clothing. Companies, in turn, began designing their sacks with this end-use in mind! This wonderfully creative and economically necessary practice of re-use among home quilters pressured manufacturers to re-evaluate what their packaging could be and innovate accordingly. I think we need another, more widespread re-evaluation of what we produce on an industrial scale, and what it leaves behind.

What inspires a new piece? Does it begin with a material, a technical challenge, a color palette, or something else entirely?

It’s different for each type of project! With my Trash Bags, the material drives every decision. First and foremost, it determines the process. Long, stiff strands of data cables or deadstock leather might be woven, while flexible mesh or ribbon is more easily knotted. Netting can be draped and gathered for structure, or stitched into a new shape. The challenge of the design becomes, how can I coax this material into something useful and beautiful while honoring its material properties and paying homage to its original utility? Sometimes this question leads me to a new fiber art I can learn and apply.

A lot of my knotted wall hangings begin with technical exploration. I limit my color palette, my materials, and the macramé knots I can use, then play with one feature: a window, a pocket, a pattern snaking in between the knots.

When designing the flagship product line of my brand, I let process design and user experience drive my designs. Now, I make minor tweaks to function and let color lead the way!

All that to say, my inspiration is constantly shifting, so I’ve learned to direct it by using each project to answer a specific question. Iterations of each project are follow-up questions. Curiosity is my guide!

You've taught workshops at Mingei International Museum and Shop Mingei carries your pieces. What has working with the Museum community meant to you?

It means the world! My first visit to Mingei was in 2023, just before I'd formalized my fiber art practice with Unknot. Washi Transformed was on view at the time. I felt the love of papercraft and human craftsmanship oozing out of the curation. It made me fall in love with the concept of mingei! Mingei quickly became my favorite museum in San Diego. As I grew Unknot, you’d better believe one of my goals was to be carried in the shop! So it’s been an absolute honor to become a contributor within this community as a shop artisan and teacher.

Craft is experiencing renewed attention among younger generations. Why do you think people are increasingly drawn to making things with their hands?

I think we’re exhausted from spending a huge part of our lives in a digital world. School, work, and leisure are largely online. The pandemic brought this to a head, pushing so many of us to re-evaluate how much attention we were giving to our online spaces, and how little we were giving to our more tangible realities. Craft became an attainable alternative, and a gateway back to the physical. 

It’s also, personally, a way for me to claw back some agency in a life that’s felt existentially unstable. I’ve spoken to a lot of artists my age who share this feeling of dread when we consider the world we stand to inherit, but had little part in shaping. We’re witnessing economic inequality at a peak, climate catastrophe in full swing, multiple wars and genocides in our lifetime, and fascism on the rise in this country and abroad. Craft, in a way, is our divestment from a very destructive culture. Instead, we create! 

And it goes beyond using our hands to create objects. I’ve seen my peers wield their craft to wider effect. They organize craft circles, share tools and knowledge, use their craft for advocacy, fundraise, design for greater accessibility and sustainability, tell marginalized stories, organize politically. Crafting is offering us a tangible starting place to process the world and problem-solve. We’re asking, “how can we use these mediums to help us build the future we want to live in?”

When someone carries one of your pieces or participates in one of your workshops, what do you hope stays with them long after the experience?

My goal with my products and my workshops is to craft a space where you feel empowered to experiment and find your style. 

My bags are designed to toe the line between blank canvas and statement piece. They can all be worn in multiple ways and adapt to your outfit. Wear it as a crossbody, or a shoulder bag, or around your hip like a belt! Pin charms in between the weave! Tie the tassels into a bow or let them hang down your back for some drama! 

The same goes for all my accessories. There is not one right way to use them; that’s where play comes in! It brings me so much joy to see someone use one of my pieces in a way I hadn’t considered.

In my workshops, I guide participants through the “proper” techniques, but remind you that you can try something unconventional, veer away from what I taught, and if you really feel stuck, start over! Part of my philosophy behind the name “unknot” is that in fiber arts you can always hit that reset and back track a few rows or stitches or knots. The choices you make don’t have to be permanent, so give yourself permission to experiment and have fun!

Is there a technique, material, or idea you're currently exploring that you're especially excited about?

Yes! My goal from Unknot’s inception has been to make it a circular design studio! I’m always in search of uses for the waste streams produced by the brand (cord scraps, packaging materials, etc.). Longer off-cuts from my bags become little bag charms, or fill my knot charm making kits. Paper bags or packing tissue from craft supply stores become part of my product packaging. 

I’ve gotten good at reincorporating all my larger scraps, so now my attention is turned to the smaller pieces. Lately I’ve tested making paper from my cotton and paper scraps! It’s definitely a learning curve but I’m here for the journey and am so excited to explore this further!

Looking ahead, what are you hoping to make, or learn, next?

I’m looking forward to learning more of the histories of knotting and weaving! I’ve had many opportunities this year to explore the origins of specific knotting styles, fiber blends, and types of looms. 

I want to continue this research so I can contextualize my own practice with the long lineage of these ancient fiber technologies!