This treasure cushion is a gesture of respect for generations past that transforms sentimental garment into thoughtful, useful gift.
When elderly friend Wendy gave us this blue dress for upcycling, the story emerged about how long she had treasured it as her mother’s gown worn to a Singleton Ball and saved from the rag bag over the years.
The fabric is marked, the fashion changed and former glory lost, but a Textile Beat transformation repositions it from back of wardrobe to centre stage as memory cushion on favourite chair.
We honour memories by creating heirlooms that can transfer through generations and genders as functional items evoking sentiment of familial love and respect.
This gift of the soul is ideal for someone of an age and stage in life where they want for nothing, don’t need more stuff, but value a gift that carries connection and emotions without adding to waste and accumulation. View the process here Reframing memories through upcycling
Inscribed on the cushion’s back are these words – Verlie Etta Hedley’s designer dress, circa 1950, treasured by her daughter Wendy Cook and upcycled in 2013.
