Amsterdam, September 15, 2008. Fabric designer Claudy Jongstra is awarded the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prijs voor Toegepaste Kunst en Bouwkunst 2008. The prize comprises a sum of € 50,000 and will be presented on November 25 in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam.

Claudy Jongstra (Roermond, 1963) of Spannum (Friesland - the Netherlands) graduated cum laude from the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Utrecht, in the discipline fashion design. She designs fabrics for reputed international fashion designers like the English/Spanish designer John Galliano, the American designer Donna Karan, the English/Iranian designer Eskandar Nabavi and the French designer Christian Lacroix. With Dutch fashion designer Alexander van Slobbe (who was awarded this Cultuurfondsprijs in 2003) she cooperates regularly.

Being a fabric designer Claudy Jongstra holds a unique position in the Netherlands. She is fascinated by felt and for almost fifteen years she has been engaged in the processing of felted wool which she enriches with other materials and colors. Thus Claudy Jongstra has designed a.o. the wall hangings and wall installations for the government building the Catshuis, the Dutch embassy in Berlin, the Huis voor Cultuur en Bestuur in Nijverdal and recently the entrance of the Public Library in Amsterdam. Traditional, centuries old, wool has thus become modern. Jongstra’s interest in wool and color reaches so far that she has a flock of 200 Drenthe Heath sheep for her own use and started her own natural dye works.

Claudy Jongstra was awarded previously the Materiaalfondsprijs voor innovatief materiaalgebruik (1995), the Aanmoedigingsprijs Industrieel Ontwerp (2000), the Vredeman de Vries Prijs voor vormgeving and the Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunsten 2005.

The jury of the Prijs voor Toegepaste Kunst en Bouwkunst 2008 praises the completely independent autonomous course pursued by Jongstra, without making any concession to her commissioners. The jury consisted of Titus Eliëns (chairman), Bernard Hulsman and Timo de Rijk.