Grandma Patterns

Bringing playfulness to traditional tartan patterns, Grandma Patterns is a soft, texturally rich collection of five rugs designed by Rop van Mierlo, founder of Wild Animals.

About the collection

Bringing playfulness to traditional tartan patterns, Grandma Patterns is a soft, texturally rich collection of five rugs designed by Rop van Mierlo, founder of Wild Animals.
Using the wet paper technique, Rop van Mierlo created a series of vibrant, untamed patterns, that celebrate the cozy, cocooned world of grandmothers. By playing with bold color contrasts and natural materials, the collection merges nostalgia for grandma’s plaids with contemporary design.
A progression on Rop van Mierlo’s signature abstract animal watercolors, the Dutch artist experimented with painting precise, geometric forms on a wet surface with the same wild approach: an unpredictable process done, in this case, “without any prior knowledge of patterns”, explains Rop.

Each of the five motifs translates organic water lines, marks, points, and geometric forms into a unique piece with a shaggy pile which expresses the freedom of the imprecise grids. Crafted by hand, the collection embodies the raw, primitive beauty of natural materials.
Grandma Patterns challenges the boundary between the wild and the domesticated, presenting geometry as a way to structure and soften our domestic world, capturing what Rop van Mierlo describes as “patterns of uncontrolled behavior”.