Amy Chen, a design student at the Royal College of Arts (RCA) collaborated with ReFAB Studio to create some stunningly beautiful pieces from designer remnants. In this conversation, Amy shares her inspiration, creative process and the need for peers to work with salvaged materials.
- What interests you about working with recycled materials?
Besides the sustainable aspect, I was also interested in the metaphorical meanings behind the interior furnishing materials reclaimed by an all-women team. I considered how the original purpose of the fabrics was to furnish and create comfort in a domestic environment. To me, they represent the idea of home. However, their status as discarded and later saved by ReFAB reminds me of the women creators throughout history who utilised fabrics around them as their main medium due to their confinement to domestic roles and lack of access to other art supplies. The metaphors held by these recycled materials led me to develop a series of work addressing women's issues within the domestic environment.
- What is rewarding about working with recycled materials?
To me, the beauty of working with recycled materials is knowing that they've lived more than one life and have encountered hands that care for the planet before they end up in mine. It is rewarding to recognise the layers of stories behind recycled materials, morphing and reinterpreting them into new pieces of work.
- What are the difficulties you face in working with remnant materials?
It is challenging when it comes to sampling with remnant materials as they often come in smaller amounts and pieces. It can also be difficult when looking for a particular colour or pattern and putting together a desirable colour story with remnant materials full of unexpected designs. However, these challenges can inspire a creator to come up with creative solutions. For my latest project, an idea dawned on me to combine these materials with leftover yarns and ribbons from my previous projects through handmade techniques to achieve the colours I preferred.
- Were you surprised by how much fabric goes to waste in the interiors industry?
I wasn't surprised as I used to work in the fashion industry, which is still lacking systematic change for sustainability. I can imagine the same issue happening in another industry.
- Would you encourage your peers to engage and utilise remnant fabric?
Of course. Beyond that, I would also encourage design studios and companies to engage more with remnant fabrics so that systematic changes can effectively take place.
- Has working with remnant fabric affected your design process? Would you now consider working with remnants materials before going and buying new fabrics?
I wouldn't say it changed my creative and design process, as I often begin by familiarising myself with the materials at hand and letting myself be guided by the properties and symbolic meanings behind the materials. But it has definitely made me more mindful about how to utilise every part of the fabric, down to its unravelled fibres, to effectively minimise waste. And yes, I would continue exploring remnant and off-cut materials.
- How do you think working with remnant fabrics has enhanced this particular project?
By repurposing the discarded interior furnishing fabrics reclaimed by ReFAB through domestic craft, my latest series of work, consisting of interactive tactile vessels and conceptual videos, builds upon the symbolic meaning of women resisting harmful systems and encapsulates a woman's journey from victimisation to reclaiming power. The direction, theme, and final creations of the project were all heavily inspired and guided by the properties of the salvaged remnant materials and the metaphorical meanings I drew from them. I wouldn't have imagined the formation of this series without getting in touch with these fabrics, and this opportunity has allowed me to explore work I had never attempted before.