Feature with Laura Starup
Laura Starup is an artist and designer whose practice is built around weaving — not as a flat craft, but as a spatial and material language. Her work is drawn to surfaces that shift with light, movement, and reflection, pushing textile beyond the two-dimensional and into sculptural, spatial form. Educated at the Royal Danish Academy, she works fluidly between textile, object, and installation, always rooted in a close, almost intuitive observation of material — fibre, structure, texture.
This Copenhagen Fashion Week, Laura is exhibiting a selection of her work in our showroom — bringing her tactile, sculptural approach to weaving into our space, quite literally alongside our own. It's that same instinct for material and atmosphere that drew us to her in the first place.
5 Quick Questions
What’s your everyday jewelry essential?
My engagement ring.
Do you prefer silver, gold - or a mix of both?
Definitely a mix!
What makes a piece of jewelry feel timeless to you?
When it has sentimental value.
Bold or minimal?
Bold.
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Ragbag?
Something messy.
What do you hope a piece of craft like yours does to a person — is there a feeling or shift you're hoping for when someone encounters it?
I hope to make people wonder. I aspire for my work to provoke an interest; to create something you may not be able to comprehend or understand as weaving when you first lay eyes on it. My most recent work revolves around the transition from flat woven surface to sculptural form - where threads are released and hanging from a woven structure suspended in the ceiling. It shifts the focus of the craft to something new. This construction makes the material - again, metallic threads - really come to life. For me, it creates a sense of something magical and I hope that people are left with the same feeling.
Do you think weaving, or traditional crafts more broadly, take up enough space in the art scene today?
Definitely not. Historically, weaving was considered craft rather than art, largely because it was associated with ‘women’s work’. Thankfully, that is beginning to change. Major institutions are increasingly dedicating exhibitions and retrospectives to textile artists, signalling the long-overdue recognition of weaving as an artistic practice.
When it comes to materials, is there something you're drawn to again and again — recycled, natural, unconventional — or do you let the material itself guide where a piece goes?
My starting point is always a fascination with a material - and usually it’s some sort of metallic yarn. My former teacher used to call me a magpie (the bird known for stealing shiny objects or jewelry) because I’m naturally drawn to everything shiny.
I think what’s interesting about metallic yarn is its many qualities - it interacts with space and light and can provide unusual shapes into a weaved surface.
If bringing craft and art into spaces like ours could spark a conversation, what would you want that conversation to actually be about?
We spend so much time surrounded by things that are made quickly and consumed just as quickly. Craft reminds us that time, care, and attention have value, and I think that's an important conversation to have. I would also hope that it makes people question where the line between art, craft, and design actually is. For me, those boundaries have never felt very important. I'm much more interested in how an object makes you feel and the stories and ideas it can carry.
What's your first memory with jewelry?
I remember having the children jewelry box with a dancing ballerina. It was just magical - whenever you opened the box she was dancing and guarding your most precious things.
Do you see any thread connecting weaving and jewelry — two crafts built from tiny, repeated things coming together into something bigger?
Definitely. There is also a lot of patience involved in both crafts, which I really like. And I think it is amazing how both practices can exist somewhere between art and design - they can be beautiful objects in their own right, but they can also have a very practical function.
Laura's top 5 favorite Ragbag pieces:
Lyra Earrings - I simply love the color of these. It brightens up the face on a grey day.
Lyra Bookmark - I read a lot and I love borrowing books from the library, so I can't bring myself to fold the corners of the pages. Having a nice bookmark just feels like a small everyday luxury. I really like this bookmark because it's very elegant - and different from any bookmark I've ever seen.
Dagny Long Earrings - I love the boldness and contrast these earrings bring to my - for the moment - bleached light hair.
Dagny Stone Necklace - I am always a fan of big jewelry pieces - and of stacking. I would wear this with a pearl necklace I inherited from my grandmother and a white coral necklace my aunt made me.
Lumora Drop Earrings - my wardrobe is quite colorful, edgy and bold. I love the more classical look these would add to my style.
Jewelry Box Canvas - I own a lot of jewelry, and it always ends up all messy in different small boxes and bowls. This jewelry box would be a great addition to keep my collection in order.
