Bags | I design and create

I stared at my stash of plastic bags with dismay. Obviously, my effort in being green was not enough. Little did I realise that I had accumulated so many plastic bags.

As I went through them, I could not help but notice that many were in pretty colours. There were lime green bags from Marks & Spencer; deep purple ones from a pharmacy while those from a store were in deep turquoise. To reuse them for trash or throw them into the recycling bin seemed like such a waste. As I stared at them, my dismay was replaced by excitement.

My mind was fast at work, thinking of the many ways I could recycle them. The texture and give of the plastic felt good enough to be turned into yarn.

I quickly sorted them by colour and cut them into strips. Before long, I was happily crocheting with my plastic yarn. If things go as planned, I could turn these used plastic bags into something pretty and useful.

A few days later, I have a new beach bag; recycled and up-cycled from plastic bags. My new plastic bag bag looks great with the purple flower accent and a furoshiki scarf strap. Best of all, it is pretty enough to carry on my trip to the Maldives in June.

I’m so in love with my new bag and could not help but start carrying it straight away. I’m now at a cafe having a great cup of coffee and my new bag is sitting next to me. This has been a project of great satisfaction.

I spend most of my time glued to the computer screen. I design and deal with a lot of images for print communication. It’s a lot of fun. While life in the digital world is always exciting, there’s also this side of me that love things handmade.

It is gratifying to create something from scratch the conventional way. It’s a creative outlet that allows me to be me.

I grew up with creative women and their influence is strong. My mother machine embroiders beautiful, traditional blouses called Nonya kebayas where she ‘paints’ intricate designs on Swiss voile. Her works are virtually pieces of art.

My late grandmother used to stitch beaded slippers where every bit of the design on the slippers are hand-sewn with tiny charlotte beads. These are now heirloom fashion pieces.

Like them, my appreciation for what’s handmade extends to many levels – the creativity, the thought process, the labour of genuine love and passion and, the effort and skill required. Continue reading →