The founders of Twine Studio (繭裹設計) use wool felting, one of the earliest fabric-making techniques, to create contemporary designs.
“We like to use traditional materials and skills, but create new, modern styles,” says Elizabeth Tsai (蔡宜穎), who started Twine Studio with Vinka Yang (楊士翔) while the two were working as architects in Shanghai. The pair moved back to Taiwan last year and opened their Taipei City store in January.
Twine Studio’s store near Zhongshan MRT Station shares a space with Earth Tree (地球樹), which specializes in fair-trade clothing and home accessories. In addition to their own creations, Tsai and Yang also sell fair-trade and eco-friendly products, as well as handmade items by Taiwanese artists.
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
Twine Studio’s signature design is a pendant made from dried lotus pods grown in Baihe District (白河區), Greater Tainan. A rainbow of felted wools are stuffed into the round, empty eyes of each pod, which are then strung from necklaces braided from shimmery string spun from fibers leftover from the manufacture of sari fabric in India. Other accessories in the Felt Fruit series feature a forest’s worth of dried plants and natural materials: sweetgum tree pods, chestnuts, lemons rinds, sugar apples, even delicate honeycomb. Another series includes chunky bangles and beads sculpted from different shades of gray felt to look like stone.
Twine’s clothing, most of which is sewn by Tsai, includes appliqued T-shirts made from organic cotton and a “travel blouse,” which can be tucked into an attached pouch that closes with a snap.
Urban Yurt, Tsai and Yang’s first collaboration, won them the silver prize at the 2006 Taiwan International Design Competition (台灣國際創意設計大賽). Inspired by origami, the project was conceived as a “shelter for urban nomads” and consisted of a briefcase-sized fabric envelope that could be unfolded into different articles of clothing or a sleeping bag.
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
Two years later, the duo launched Twine Studio, selling their felted jewelry at Cocoon, a small Shanghai store they started with a group of friends. In 2009, Twine Studio participated in that city’s Eco Design Fair (生態環保設計展), which inspired them to begin using environmentally sustainable materials.
After returning to Taiwan, Yang and Tsai opened a tiny store in Greater Taichung, but say they had trouble finding other boutiques to carry their items on consignment and convincing consumers about the value of organic cotton.
“I think a lot of people aren’t sure of the difference between organic cotton and ordinary cotton,” says Tsai. “The texture is a little different, but the most important thing is that ordinary cotton is grown with a lot of pesticide, so organic cotton is not just better for the environment, but for people.”
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
The two found a supporter in Earth Tree owner Lydia Wang (王靖宜), who began carrying their items before offering them a space in her Taipei City store, to which Twine Studio relocated from Taichung.
The brands Twine Studio import are either certified by the World Fair Trade Organization or made from environmentally friendly materials. Taiwanese indie labels represented include printmaker Chiuzen (沾手) and Bag Up, which sews purses and totes from discarded museum exhibition banners.
Twine carries several of UK fair-trade label Nkuku’s kitchenware lines, including stainless steel four-tier tiffin carriers and jugs painted with highly detailed designs in rich colors by artisans in Kashmir, India.
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
“We want to focus on handmade things that are eco-friendly, but our goal is also to show that handmade items can be of extremely high quality,” says Yang.
Photos: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
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