Heidi Hankaniemi: The art of mending

From delicately stitched underground railway maps to beautiful artworks created from layered vintage lace and embroideries, Heidi Hankaniemi has always had a passion for making art.

With a lifelong love for handiwork, she has been able to develop a balance in her work, creating pieces of beauty each with a genuine concept behind it. Her mission is to rescue and restore value to discarded textiles, incorporating their history and the memories of their makers. She mends and joins these fragile items, fashioning them into exquisite contemporary works of art.

Heidi Hankaniemi was born in Finland, where arts education is highly valued. She grew up with an appreciation for art and the Scandinavian design aesthetic. She has lived in many places, drawing inspiration from each new home city, and is currently based in New York City. She has a BA (Hons) Degree in Critical Fine Art Practice from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and a Diploma in Fine Arts from Kanneljärven Opiston Taidelinja in Finland.

Having found a way to combine her fine art skills with a love of hand sewing, she began to consider how to make good use of the vintage textiles she collects. During a period recovering from brain surgery, working with these vintage materials became a meditative and restorative act. This was the start of her path as a vintage textiles rescuer.