During an exciting rummage through ‘Scrap’- a creative reuse store for arts and play, i stumbled across an old suitcase that i fell in love with upon first glance. It’s Tartan upholstery, traditional shape, aged zips and ‘vintage style’ are but a few clues that it must have come from the 70’s punk rock era. Not only did i want to keep it to ‘edge-up’ my look on future travels, but an idea popped to mind on how i could product hack this item and so i carried on scrummaging through Scrap to find: one material roll tube, some coat hangers and a handful of nails.
See below how i used these items to create an unconventional clothes rail:
I want to use this re-make of the conventional suitcase as a platform for experimenting with. I am going to start with photo-coping some of the images i took of the ‘Cloths rail’ and maybe trace the framing of the suitcase, strip the material and look at the infrastructure.
The tartan upholstery of the suitcase has sparked my interest in the language and symbolism of fabric and clothing. The red tartan, conventional design and ‘vintage’ look of the suitcase are but a few clues that this suitcase may have come for the 70’s punk ear. The punk rock scene/ look has progressed and survived from the early designs of Vivienne Westwood of the 70’s through to today where it is still prominent amongst many. Associations, pre-judgments and generalisations are made by what could be called the ‘conventional groups’ in our society. ‘Punk rockers’ are often shunned and excluded from possible jobs and careers due to their appearance. This ties in to the optional theme for creative strategies- ‘Invitation to Dinner’ (Looking at Hospitality, dining and notions of exchange). It brings questions to mind, for example: would you open your door to a man wearing a leather jacket, metal studded belt and spiked hair or a shirted man, with non- descript trousers? I want to start researching these areas, and the notions that surround them.
lilyvanlennep 