Savo Sitdowns: Knitting ideas into textiles with BYBORRE

While the machines might look like something from out of the future, they are globally ubiquitous – widely used everywhere from the U.S. to India to produce mattress fabrics. What sets BYBORRE apart is the software layer the self-professed “textile nerds” have added to the process. The result is a new approach to textile design: digitally driven, produced on-demand, and designed to reduce waste.

Savo’s CEO Craig Howarth sat down with BYBORRE’s CEO Mijke van Ballegooijen to learn more about how BYBORRE is revolutionising textile production and prioritising the role of textiles in architecture and product design.

C.H. First of all, it’s super nice to meet you, and a big thanks for letting us come and visit you here. To start, it would be great for me – and, of course, for the readers – if you could give us a quick introduction to BYBORRE.

M.vB. Absolutely. BYBORRE was founded by designer Borre Akkersdijk and digital strategist Arnoud Haverlag. Borre had been frustrated that he couldn’t translate his designs into textiles, so he began experimenting in the circular knitting machines that were originally used by mattress manufacturers. He tweaked the first knitting software to be able to integrate pattern pieces of garments into the process directly. Arnoud saw the potential and suggested automating the process so anyone could turn their ideas into textiles.

As they entered the industry, they quickly realised how inaccessible and lacking in transparency it was. From the beginning, BYBORRE focused on three things: knit technology, automation to make textile creation accessible, and transparency in production.

After early success in fashion collaborations and their own collections, the company began expanding into interiors about two and a half years ago. Today, BYBORRE combines a digital design platform, its own knit technology, and on-demand production to give designers more control while reducing waste.

C.H. And in terms of the space here, how would you describe it?

M.vB. What you see here is that we’re a relatively small team. Our production happens with multiple partners, with the largest part in Belgium, where we produce our bulk textiles. But this is where we develop everything.

Since the beginning, we’ve had a strong digital mindset, but we’re also textile geeks. We believe that to constantly improve our products and challenge the system, those two things need to come together.

That’s why we have our laboratory here. It’s where we bridge the gap between design and industrial textile production, testing anything we think is needed. Having the lab right where we develop the product, build the digital platform, create new collections, and bring everything together helps us move faster and deliver stronger results.

C.H. So that allows you to produce some of the smaller series here, while larger orders are produced at your main facilities.

That was something we realised during the unofficial design week in Stockholm earlier this year. We were working with very tight deadlines – both to finalise the design with the team at Form Us With Love and then get the fabric produced.

At the same time, we were going through version two of the Savo Spine product we’re sitting in now. So the timing was quite intense – we had Savo Spine, a new fabric that Form Us With Love was designing with you to upholster the chairs with, and a very tight deadline. But in the end, together, we managed to make it happen.

M.vB. Absolutely. We’re able to move very quickly.

C.H. What stands out to me is the strong tech element. The software sits at the front and really acts as the enabler that allows these products to be created. So you have that tech component…

M.vB. …and the ability to iterate quickly, as you experienced.

C.H. Exactly. And then there’s the innovation side, which is another really important word for us at Savo – it’s one of our core values. But there’s also the sustainability element.

You touched on that briefly when you mentioned how much you keep in stock, which is really about on-demand production. Instead of having thousands – or even hundreds – of metres sitting on shelves, you produce based on what will actually be used.

M.vB. Yes. The textile industry operates with a real lack of transparency, so it’s difficult to get all the data on the table. But there has been quite a lot of research, and the estimate is that around 25 percent of all textiles produced globally are never used for their intended purpose.

That’s an incredible amount when you think about how much textile is produced every year. Honestly, if there’s one thing we’d like to achieve, it’s for textile producers – at least in the project market, where lead times are long – to move to on-demand production. Because it is possible, and that’s what we want to prove. It would have a huge impact on the environment.

C.H. And I think the gap to that is still quite significant, as you say. It really requires changing ways of working, and that also affects design processes.

But if we talk a bit about the second word I mentioned – innovation – which I see as closely connected to your brand, how do you describe innovation in the world of BYBORRE?

M.vB. For us, innovation isn’t innovation for its own sake. We constantly challenge ourselves to see if we can do things better. That might mean changing the way we work to make a real impact, or continuously testing new yarns that come onto the market – especially more sustainable ones – and seeing how we can use them while still meeting the requirements needed for projects.

At the same time, we look at how we can further digitalise the supply chain so that things move faster and on-demand production becomes even more feasible.

So there are many areas where we believe we can improve, and we like to challenge the rules. For me, that’s what innovation is about.

C.H. And if we talk about the interiors industry, where Savo is mainly active in the workspace segment. What’s your impression of the workspace industry?

M.vB. What I find interesting about this industry is that it’s not very digital yet.

C.H. Jag håller med – den är ganska traditionell, nästan analog i vissa delar.

M.vB. The ideas and designs are beautiful, but a lot of the work still happens through Excel sheets, phone calls, and personal relationships. That’s very nice – and very human – but sometimes it’s not the most efficient.

I think there’s room to benefit from digitalising certain parts of the process. Take sampling, for example. Of course, textiles are tactile, and you want to feel them, but a large part of the design process could be done digitally, reducing unnecessary sampling.

When it comes to the workspace specifically, I think it’s going to be a very exciting time. It’s all about employee experience now. The days of endless rows of grey desks and synthetic materials designed purely for efficiency are over. Companies need to think about how to motivate people to come into the office and support their professional development.

For that, you need more. Tactility and colour can create an emotional connection to a space. They make environments feel engaging and human. I believe we’ll see much more of that going forward.

Another important aspect is identity. Companies can use materials to express who they are – translating their DNA into a space through texture and design. That can really strengthen employees’ sense of belonging.

C.H. As you mentioned, a catalyst for this shift was the move to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, employers are trying to bring people back to the office for the right reasons – collaboration, connection, and so on. But for that to happen, the office has to be attractive.

If we think about the workspace as it is today, and look a bit further into the future from an innovation perspective, what do you foresee?

M.vB. What’s interesting is that we come from the fashion world, where there’s a lot of experience with knitted textiles. Knit is quite different from woven textiles, and in interiors it’s still a niche, with a lot of untapped potential – but it’s growing.

That’s exciting, because you can do so much more with knitted textiles. From a colour perspective, you can create much more depth, and aesthetically, you can achieve a wider variety of designs than with woven textiles. Knit also has natural stretch, so it wraps beautifully around shapes.

C.H. Coming into the interiors world as one of the newer players, is there anything you feel the industry is overlooking when it comes to textiles?

M.vB. I think there are many opportunities, and the interiors and workspace industries are gradually starting to recognise the characteristics of knitted textiles.

As I mentioned earlier, textiles are often treated as an afterthought. The space is designed first, and only at the end do people think about adding textiles. But textiles can play a much bigger role in the architecture itself – especially when you consider acoustic applications, since knitted textiles have strong sound-absorbing qualities, or furniture, like with the Savo chairs.

When textiles are considered earlier in the process, they can really shape the outcome. It also changes the decision-making process, because you have time to plan properly, order in time, and produce on demand, which helps reduce waste.

C.H. And when you look at the industries you’re working across – the interiors industry, for example, where we have a culture that you should generally be able to have any colour you want on any product – it makes it challenging for producers in some ways.

Versus the automotive industry, for example, where you might have two, three, or four colourways, and that’s it.

Do you think that could ever be a direction for us? Or do you think that would be too boring for an interior workspace?

M.vB. I would love that.

Which reminds me – I think an important topic to raise is the changing needs of customers. It used to be much more about mass production, but today there’s a growing demand for smaller, almost custom orders.

I think all of this shows there’s a desire for smaller batches of more unique textiles – or chairs, or other elements – that help express identity. And that’s what we hope to facilitate.

C.H. If we look at the project ecosystem in the office interiors and workspace world, it can still be quite traditional. When you look at it from your perspective, what would make it the perfect model?

M.vB. I think it’s important not to be just a textile supplier, but more of a textile partner. If you want textiles that express a brand’s DNA and ensure longevity, they also need to be treated properly.

We work closely with architects to help translate their ideas and vision – often together with the DNA of the end customer – into textile. We’re also often in direct contact with the end customer, advising on things like cleaning or upholstery.

C.H. That sounds really valuable.

On that note, it’s been great to learn more about the thinking behind BYBORRE and the way you approach textiles. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us – and for showing us around today.