Can you imagine a rug made out of old worn-out t-shirts or woolen sweaters? Katarina Brieditis and Katarina Evans did and they didn't stop here, but went on to transform it to a 12 month art project.
Re Rag Rug is an experimental Swedish design project that aims to transform seemingly worthless materials into exclusive rugs. In total, the project is comprised of 12 rugs, made in 12 months using 12 different techniques.
Katarina Brieditis and Katarina Evans started Re Rag Rug in August 2012. Both have backgrounds in textile / art design and a strong common interest for renewal and recycling of waste materials.
This is how Katarina Evans explains how they came up with the idea of turning them into rugs, "It's a product with a long life span and a greater value than a towel or a pair of jeans for example. A rugs builds a room and creates an atmosphere. If you have a rug then you have a home." Rugs also have a strong cultural heritage and the fact that rug making has been around for several thousand years makes it even more interesting.
Among the rugs they are working on they aim to include the "Milky Way" which consists of old sweaters, a pepita patterned rug made up of old t-shirts and a thick rag rug with a thickness of over an inch, that flows along like a winding country road.
I was thrilled when I found out that they were going to have an exhibition in Landskrona (half an hours drive from Malmö!). I like the idea of turning waste into something worthwhile and it was really great to be able to meet both Katarinas! I found out that there is a secret 13th rug on exhibition in Malmö and will be checking it out this afternoon. Keep you posted!