Familie Haller spinnt
2024 I INTRA PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS VIENNA
AN ETHNOGRAPHIC EXCURSION INTO A SMALL SCALE LOCAL FASHION BUSINESS
production
short documentary
research partners
Spinnradl GmbH
Prof. Seçil Uğur Yavuz
Prof. Aart van Bezooijen
on show at
Stoffwechsel, Frauenmuseum Hittisau (AT), 2024
Circular Week Tirol, Innsbruck (AT), 2023
special thanks to
Familie Haller (Franziska, Franz, Margaret, Angelika, Hansluis, Andrea)
supported by
INTRA program (University of Applied Arts Vienna)
WORTH partnership program (European Union)
Familie Haller Spinnt is a short film about a small family business in the South Tyrolean mountains.
Every morning, Franz opens the door to his workshop to switch on his machines. The damp fleeces spread out on the veranda to dry already reveal what this business is all about. Franz has a passion for “sheep’s wool.” Accompanied by constant whirring and rattling, raw wool is carefully spun into thread, passing through the hands of the entire Haller family.
Yet what this small family business does is neither trivial nor self-evident. In fact, a considerable share of European sheep’s wool is currently discarded unused, while microplastics from synthetic fast-fashion fibers are already found on top of the Himalayas.
Wool, however, holds unexpected potential! But is it even possible to produce clothing on a local scale within an industry whose manufacturing infrastructures have long since moved elsewhere? Maybe the Hallers have found a way.
This ethnographic study was created as part of the research process for ONE SHEEP, an artistic research project exploring sustainable futures for our material culture in the face of dwindling resources and within the wider discourse on global justice.
FRANZ HALLER IN THE WORKSHOP
HANS-LUIS HALLER OPERATING THE KNITTING MACHINE
FRANZISKA HALLER RESPONSIBLE FOR DESIGN AND SALES
