about

Tasman bags is designed and created by Astrid Stoltenborg. She has worked as a product developer for various furniture producers including Moooi, Pastoe and Piet Boon. In “Tasman bags “ her need to design and create folds together. Sculpting, creating bags , willing to explore and open minded, Astrid has always been keen on how things are made. This has kept her busy from an early age on.

Tasman bags started with an idea of making a bag together with her hobby of sculpturing. These two came together during the modelling course in the beautiful van Manenburg atelier. Under the watchful eye of sculptors Amiran Djanasshvili and Dick Aerts, the Tasman sculpture was born.

The “bronze Tasman” holds the whole bag together through the continuous fall around flap. Basically it is a sort of “ode to the man” where people long to belong. There is a need to feel connected to each other , to feel linked and united together feeling supported through rough times.

Abel Tasman, the world traveller, completes the story. Discovering the world was one of the motivations for the continuing process of Tasman bags. Learning new skills, discovering new materials and in more general,  discovering the world.

The creation of Tasman bags has been and still is a beautiful journey, one of joy, challenge and change!