MUSEUM FULL OF FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
Rozendaal was an import and export company in cotton waste. In 1907 its textile factory saw the light of day. We now know it as De Museumfabriek, in Roombeek. Its programmes always focus on the future. The remarkable thing is that the textile factory of that time also had a future.
Chimneys as a sign of success
Enschede had its heyday as a textile city in 1920. More than a century ago, we were a city of chimneys and we were very proud of that. Those chimneys were the epitome of progress. Until the 1960s, we were the second largest textile city in Europe.
From cotton waste to cleaning rags
Whereas textile factories such as De Bamshoeve, Rigtersbleek and Jannink made new products, Rozendaal's was all about their leftover fabrics, fabrics with weaving faults and so on. In Rozendaal's former textile factory, they pulled these leftover fabrics apart into fibres. They would then make threads and weave it into 'new' rags. Recycling before it was trendy! There were also electric trolleys on the premises. A safer - non-sparking - choice considering the fire hazard with all that fabric. At De Museumfabriek, they still weave with the traditional machines: its tablecloths and tea towels can be bought in the museum shop. But above all, it lets you discover how we can learn from nature for our future. Take the colouring of fabrics, for example, without dyes. Thanks to the technology of butterfly wings, this is possible! The future is often closer than we think. At De Museumfabriek they give you something to think about.
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