A Patchwork of Cultures

My love of fabrics began as a young girl watching my mother sewing our clothes. I was taught to sew on her old Bernina and this memory still evokes the smell of linseed oil and the machinegun rat-a-tat of the mechanism. She ran her own business printing textiles and making children's clothes out of old fabrics and it is these three creative processes - sewing, printing and recycling that were the inspiration behind our packaging.

Origin of Photo

The Komebukuro Bag: Inspired design
The style and sentiment of our pouches goes back to the design of the Japanese Komebukuro bag, which incorporated a sewn patchwork of different fabrics that were traditionally used to carry rice offerings to the temple during important religious ceremonies, it was also used to hold a gift connected to a significant personal event for a close friend or relative.

Indonesian Batik: An Ancient Form of Printing
The ancient artform of wax resist dyeing which is used in batik dates back to the 4th century BC where it was used in Egypt to wrap mummies. It later spread to China and India in the 6th century before finding it's way to Indonesia.

The technique involves melted wax which is applied to cloth before being dipped in dye. Any area the wax has been applied, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colours are used, with a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps.

The traditional colours used in this process include indigo, dark brown, and white, which are suppose to represent the three major Hindu Gods (Brahmā, Visnu, and Śiva). This is related to the fact that natural dyes are most commonly available in indigo and brown. Certain patterns were used to indicate your social status, so traditionally, wider stripes or wavy lines would indicated that you were higher up in social standing. Consequently, during ceremonies, one could determine the royal lineage of a person by the cloth he or she was wearing.

 Origin of photo

Japanese Cotton: The Art of Recycling
The use of cotton textiles has a long history in Japan, dating back to at least the early 17th century. During the various trade embargoes in this period, industrious Japanese women  perfected several sewing techniques in order to give renewed life to previously unwanted cloths as cotton was scarce. They used material that was readily available like old cloth and rags, patchworking them together and using them to make warm clothing, futon covers and other common household items.

The resulting combination of these different design styles, materials, printing methods, cultures and stories has determined much of our brand ethos and had a particular appeal in the making of our packaging.

 Voyage Packaging

Image sources:
www.tokugawaantiques.com
http://mamifleur.canalblog.com
www.kimonoboy.com