Old2Gold processes beloved pieces of clothing as lining in a bag made from reused leather. For many, garments contain a special memory: the first baby clothes, your wedding dress, a blouse of a deceased loved one or simply a favourite pair of trousers. For many, throwing these kinds of items away is difficult, resulting in a box of clothes sitting unused in the attic for a long time.

Old2Gold makes this memory tangible by incorporating recognisable elements of that special piece of clothing as a lining into a bag. Each bag is made from reused leather from old furniture, trimmings or samples to prevent high-quality, usable material with a special and personal story from ending up in the trash.

You will use recycled materials during this workshop to make your personalised phone bag. This phone bag will be made from reused (furniture) leather and lined with your beloved piece of clothing! This way, we give existing materials a second life, and you go home with a super cute and personalised bag.

During this workshop, Jolien will teach you the basic facets of the bag-making craft. She will take you from the first idea to realisation. How do you design a bag? How do you make the patterns? What tools do you use? Meanwhile, you get to work behind the special sewing machine (single-needle free-arm sewing machine with triple feed) to stitch your bag together yourself. The bag is 20 cm high, 11 cm wide and 2 cm deep, therefore suitable for phones up to 16.4 inches.

Would you like to make this personalised phone bag? Then don’t forget to bring your beloved piece of clothing or another precious piece of textile for the bag’s lining. Please note that you will need at least two pieces of 20×15 cm fabric. It is nice when this fabric is not too thick (like a knitted jumper) or too ‘open’ (like a lace blouse).

This workshop will be run by Jolien Roesthuis, bag designer, memory artist and owner of Old2Gold. “Because of my background in textiles, I constantly came into contact with the many abuses in the textile industry, so I decided I wanted to do something about it. I truly believe that we should no longer see used textiles as waste but as raw material for special products with a personal story. This mission, my interest in fashion and my fascination with craft and workmanship made me open the doors of my studio in 2017. I draw inspiration from timeless classics, existing shapes, textures, and materials. I am creative, conceptual and practical in my designs. After all, a bag from Old2Gold should be something you can wear anytime, anywhere, so you can take your special memory with you every day.”

In collaboration with Andrevo Sewing Machines.