Ellen van Helmond-Klomp’s textile story
Ellen was raised with the textile industry. Her father was a textile designer, which influenced her own career.
Piet de Wit
“When my father, Cees Klomp, was 14 years old, he started working at De Wit in Geldrop on the Parallelweg. He descended from a family of ten children, nine of whom are boys. They all ended up in the industry and my father, who was a talented artist from a young age, in the textile industry. He worked eight hours a day at De Wit. In addition to this, he attended the Kunstnijverheidsschool in Eindhoven three evenings a week. In his class was Mrs. Venmans-Bruning, from the Wool Blanket Factory Netherlands.”
To the factory
“Van der Lande took over De Wit, which is why my father now worked at Hatéma in Helmond. My father also worked there on Saturdays until one o’clock in the afternoon. I often went with him. Father then made designs and checked them on the lightbox. If there was a single mistake or a spot that was not properly coloured, the design had to be redone. There were always many different types of materials and colours in his office. I found sorting by colour and tinkering with the patches a wonderful activity. This later influenced my choice of school. I did the PABO training with TeHaTex note, drawing, crafts and textiles. My father always wanted to be an artist. Even after his retirement, he went to the art academy and obtained his diploma here.”
Van de Sanden & Zonen
“Our family also had a good relationship with the Van de Sanden family. They had a factory in the Laarstraat. II went there regularly after school. I especially remember the noise and the smell of grease and dust that hung in the weaving mill. In the studio, ladies were sewing the bathrobes and the throws. We especially loved the warehouse, with colored threads and buttons. We endlessly played shop and we were allowed to use the counting machine, the scales and everything else available. With Sinterklaas, we always, coincidentally, got a new bedspread and bathrobe with a label in it from Carion B.V. ”