turning tablewares into tablewear

issue 83 ♡ upcycling tableware into wearable pieces #tablewear

dear me, are you wearing a tablecloth? love (oh) dear.

dear oh dear,

i took a little break from writing on my manuscript and channelling notes the last two weeks. i finished my first draft of my second book and as a ‘treat’ to my lower self, my higher self and guides gave lenience to work on my other passion — which is basically, clothes or garments if we want to sound a bit fancy. part I i will give you the backstory of my clothes whoring tendencies and how i came to produce this range. in part II i share some photos of the collection on 35mm film i shot and styled.

you can read previous related posts to provide more clarity— the one on how to setup at flea markets or the one on buying sh** at markets or the one on finding cool old stuff.

part I.

writing is not always fun. it's gratifying and satisfying and hard-won yet also grueling and heart wrenching but not exactly fun. so as a by-product of this #notsofun i treat myself to scavenging treasures, sourcing vintage and designing on the sidelines. creating a range of up-cycled clothing from scavenged tablecloths is my idea of fun. it's also the practical embodiment of the stuff & non-sense i often espouse here.

in my life away from writing here and pouring out my hearts (and higher selfs) content, i am a bonafide clothes whore. i am looking at clothes, i am thinking about clothes. i am styling clothes, i am mending clothes. i am scavenging and sourcing clothes and i am getting paid to put together clothes. hello, my name is dee and i am a clothes whore.

i have been working with and around and moving clothes for most of my adult life. my first retail job at age seventeen was at MYER, one of the big department store chains in australia. from there i moved clothes around for various brands and retail chains — american apparel, sportsgirl, one teaspoon, house of mink pink and topshop.

my job title was ‘visual merchandiser’ which the school of design at RMIT where i studied stated as, “the marriage between creativity and commerce” or something to that effect. i would say in layman’s terms— visual merchandising is the act of moving clothes around and placement of garments and props around it, to look cute so people want to buy it.

my last full time job (ever) as a visual merchandiser at the ripe age of 31 was as a ‘creative’ for topshop. i was dressing over fifty mannequins at the flagship in sydney — a behemoth of a store with over five levels of fast-fashion and necessitating multiple warehouses to hold all the garments coming in and out weekly. racks of racks of the same items of clothing, in various shades and multiple sizes were shuffled in and out of the store daily. my job was to change the ‘mannies’ and displays daily, as the garments sold so quickly. this was the era of fast fashion.

this fast footprint weighed heavily on me. in the years to follow and as i moved into motherhood, i created my own homewares brand kawaiian lion. everything was made with limited runs and very small batches comparatively to the units sold by big brands. the most i ever produced was 100 pieces of one style. for the most part — there would be runs of 30 or 40 pieces. this is my attempt to not overrun the market with so many pieces, and to be thoughtful about what i was producing.

there was always a foreboding and hanging sense of guilt that always loomed— that i was producing new things. as a long time vintage lover and second hand shopper, i was designing new products inspired by old things and while they were cool or cute and lovely to have— i could not help but feel i was only adding to the weight of the earth. when i sold the label 6 years later, i vowed i would not produce clothes or homewares again— unless they were made from pre-existing items in the world.

uncle simon and his beloved bernina.

while i didn’t miss the brand when i sold it— i did miss the process of design and production and abiding by the changing seasons. as a consolation to myself, i began designing clothes for myself from tablecloths and vintage fabrics and discarded linen bedsheets i would find at the local flea market. i found deep joy in rescuing these forgotten cloths and resuscitating new life into their already exquisite form. i wrangled my former dressmaker ‘uncle’ out of retirement to sew garments for me and to mend beautiful silk or treasured pieces i would find at op-shops and second hand sales.

for the last few summers, i have been wearing tablewares transformed into what i call table-wear. people of all ages would comment or compliment these oufits. i came to the realisation, that there is a deep sense of nostalgia with these garments. the cross-stitched detail, the hand embroidery and the cutwork — all hinted at something seen and felt before — at their grandmother’s house or aunts table.

i decided to produce more of these table-wear pieces, not just for myself. uncle simon helped cut and sew a small batch of a dozen which i tested and sold at special event markets the last couple years. also i furtively would sell them when people asked or popped over to my studio. late last year, i made a commitment to produce another small up-cycled range and release it on a grander scale.

the result is dear me the first drop that was released yesterday on my website kawa heart studio and oh dear the second drop which will be released next month in march. these terms of en-dear-ments are embroidered into the corner of the garments with the addition of heart-shaped buttons. dear me is an ode to all the grandmother's, popo’s and sweet nonna's of the world from simpler, slower times who would sit and embroider tablecloths for their loved ones.

so yes — yes, i am wearing a tablecloth.

part II.

if you’re not interested in clothes or fashion or styling— i kindly implore you to look at this range from the wider lens of transformation. we are surrounded by beautiful and interesting objects that already exist on earth — often they are just waiting idly in someone’s garage, attic or storage unit — hoping and desperately seeking a new custodian to make it useful once again. tableware transformed into #tablewear

letecia sweetheart whom i met at the markets. 35mm film by dee kawai tang

cutwork and embroidery detail from old tablecloths saved from landfill.

art deco etched ship mirror & 90s radical movement skim board left from an ex-bf.

props: classic book ‘picture at hanging rock’ based on film by peter weir.

aryuni & her cute belly. dear me. oh dear. embroidery details on upcycled garments.

beige 80s telephone from the flea & mid century armchair from gumtree.

ziggy in bamboo 60s hat & suitcase from the flea. vintage army emergency chair.

props: beach boys record from yeah vintage and mart stam white cantilever chair.

thank you for being here. this has been a great external release for me coming out from my anti-socials shell. now i shall retreat back into my book cave— until next time :)

love d-signer. xx