Frédérique Morell - Recycled Tapestry
13. October 2008 Accessories & Jewelry, DIY & Customizing, Sustainable Fashion
Was it once an essential obligation for female generations before me, so is needlework such as sewing, knitting and embroidery rather a hobby than a daily do in a today´s woman´s world.
Artistically embroidered dowry, the waiting for the seasonal Burda patterns and the darned socks – I still knew these things from my childhood but contrary to my mother and grandmother, I totally lack this kind of practical knowledge.
A Long time, i didn´t care. Budget shops such as H&M and Ikea replaced the laborious DIY and my way of consumption was following pretty easy rules. Fast to get, fast to get rid of. What I didn´t like was given away and replaced by some new stuff.
I first became aware about how little I know about „the practical things“ until I took my deceased mum´s sewing machine with me. Even the simple curtain sewing demanded me for days and I realized – my family knowledge of needlework is gone but my knowledge of consumption can´t compete.
Today, I take care today about my ancestor’s treasures – handmade linen, embroidered bedclothes and towels, the socks my grandma knitted for me and the 60s/70s clothing my mum once sewed to wear. I comb through flea markets and thrift stores for furniture and accessories and Ikea bores me away. Today.
This is why Frédérique Morell´s project of recycling old tapestry excites me.
When her grandma passed away, her needlework ended up in the trash. Later, the French university professor started to collect and to recycle old needlework and other un-justly, un-recognized, anonymous and devalued artifacts.
The value of Morell´s project doesn´t only lay in her product´s aesthetic, it´s more about the respect and reviving. Functions change, arras become lamps, cross stitches transform into patchwork-cushions, housewives’ handcraft works turn into designer objects. Each tapestry can tell an individual story about a life, about a person and make Morell´s work event more valuable and adorable
Photos via Frédérique Morell.
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