While studying in Copenhagen, I was in awe over how playful and thoughtful design could be. The smallest details were turned into moments of grace within the everyday. In my own practice, I want to implement this kind of thinking while re-using material that lacks that same thoughtfulness. This led me to start creating textiles from plastic grocery bags by ironing them into layers of water-repellent fabric. I then quilted the material to make items like the reusable tote pictured ( a cheeky bag from bags) inspired by Korean quilting techniques like pojagi. In working with fused plastics I have been contemplating the re-use of existing materials in pursuit of more holistic sustainability and developing the kind of “re-use driven thinking” I see as the future of design.

The idea for a tent made of the material I developed came to me while backpacking through the Amazon. I was sleeping each night in a tent my dad bought as his first big investment in college. It served as my private enclave throughout one of the most surreal, inspiring, and taxing experiences of my life. The way the early morning sun would seep in through the nylon made me want to explore this nomadic iteration of stained glass.