Esther Elzinga

I am Esther Elzinga, fabric printer, printmaker and pattern lover based in the Netherlands.

There are two things I love most in my profession which are fabrics and printing. At an early age I was already in love with fabrics in various fashion designs, so for me it was a logical step to start my study at the fashion & design academy from which I graduated specialized in high-fashion.

My second love, printmaking, came at a later stage when we (me, my husband and our 5 children) moved from the Netherlands to Singapore for my husband’s work. I fell in love straight away with the beautiful batik prints that are so common in that region, so I started experimenting with fabric printing right away. From potato printing to wood-carved prints and even rope-shaped stamps; I’ve tried them all. When I bumped into some carving-rubber I was hooked; I never stopped carving ever since.

This hobby got out of hand pretty fast; after a couple of years when we got back to Netherlands I started my own printing studio, Studio Tokek (“tokek” means “lizard’ in Bahasa, the language in Indonesia).

In my studio I make stamps for my own collection print fabrics, make various items out of the handprinted fabrics and I make stamps to order for various customers all over the world.

My main source of inspiration are my 5 kids; they give me the energy and inspiration to start new projects every day.

I don’t really see my work as art, but I take pride in people valuing my work for the creativity and craftsmanship that I’ve put into it. It’s my heart and soul!