Repair Project

Part 2

Test with an Experiment

4. Attempt repair.

Does it work?

5. Was the repair successful?

Are you happy with the results?

Is the repair more beautiful/interesting in some way than the original?

How is the object more resilient after the repair?

I used the very basic method to fix the jeans. I attached two patches at the bottom from the inside and it looks more like it was before. I’m not so satisfied with the result, because this method is not creative at all. I didn’t do any design on the original jeans, but just repair it. According to my knowledge now, I couldn’t think about better ways to fix it. The ripped area is on the hip, between the legs. If I make new design at there, it will catch more attention than other parts of the jeans, which is really awkward and may be inconvenient to wear. However, the ripped mark is still visible. This makes the jeans kind of resilient in another way. Once it is ripped again on the other part, or even at the same area, the new patches or fix won’t be abrupt. In this way, this jeans can be patched as many times as it can be.

Analyze and Draw Conclusions

6. What did you learn?

How long do you expect this repair to actually last now that it is complete?

What surprises did you encounter?

What would you do differently next time?

Are there other ways you could have repaired this item, that you realize now?

After completing this project, do you consider repair a more valuable skill?

I think the jeans can last for at least one more year. However, if it is ripped again, I can patch it again. While I was looking the patch fabric for the ripped area, I couldn’t find the exact same denim. I was afraid that the difference of the two denim fabrics would be too abrupt, but it turns out very unobvious. Next time, I would not hand sew every stitch. I will use the machine and make it more professional. Although it looks really nature from the outside, the stitches were seen from the inside. The denim is difficult to work with on the sewing machine and cover machine. It requires skills to master the repairing. As for now, hand sewing is my best choice. After this repair, my hand sewing skill gets improved. I figure out more methods to hid the stitches.

7. Fixing Process

Reflection:

8. What is the most important aspect of making a design easily repairable?

A design that could be easily repaired will last longer. People have emotions on their objects, so a longer lasting product will have more customers.

9. After completing this project, what’s one object that you wish you could repair

but don’t feel as though you currently have the skills to do so?

I broke a pink plate at my apartment last semester. There was a small piece chipped off from the edge. It was a really thin and small piece, so I threw it away. I wonder if it is possible to rebuild the missing part with the new materials.

10: Did your repair require fewer materials and involve fewer systems than buying

a new replacement? Which systems?

Yes. The amount of denim I patched on to the ripped area is definitely fewer than the amount of denim that needed to make a new pair of jeans. Although making fabrics for the patches and making fabrics for the new pair of jeans involve the same systems, the effect of these two are totally different. I can totally just get the patches from scraps that were left over from making a new pair of patches. The systems of making denim involve labors, water (huge amount) waste, sewage treatment, etc.

Class visit with Gen Saratani

Which of the Long Life Design criteria does kintsugi fulfill? Are you interested in this kind of repair? Do you think you have the patience to enjoy a process of slow repair? Do you think a slow and long process of repair can make an object more meaningful? Does this kind of repair seems like its own art form, rather than just repair? Does it feel inventive and creative (in what ways?) Do you think repaired kintsugi designs become more interesting than the original?

Kintsugi fulfill the criterion of Function. The ceramics after kintsugi work exactly the same as the original unbroken pieces. I’m really interested in this kind of repair. It is giving new life to a broken design. I do believe that time itself has strong power that could change a lot. The repaired design itself get reborn. If the repair is successful, it will be an art form. If it is not successful, it actually creates extra trash. The process of planning the repair requires a lot of creativities. It is like invent a new design out of the old design. The new invention needs not only to be beautiful. It’s better if the new design contains some aspects from the original design. The repaired kintsugi designs are more interesting, since kintsugi was a way of decoration at the beginning.

 

Social Reciliency

A. Conduct independent research on the effects of the fashion industry on water and air systems. Post links to two websites that you found the most useful and interesting. Write a few sentences summarizing what you learned.

 

1. The True Cost:

https://truecostmovie.com

 

It is a website of a movie about some hidden fact behind the fashion industry, especially fast fashion. A big part about this movie talks about how labors in India are working under really harsh conditions. The other part talks about the pollution caused by the factories. The waste that released back to the nature will actually harms the children of the labors, so it is a cycle. In the website, there is a section called Environmental Impact that introduced the issues mentioned in the film with more details.

 

1. Green Peace:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/fast-fashion-drowning-world-fashion-revolution/blog/56222/

 

Green Peace is an organization that works on different kind of environmental issues on the earth, so it is not only focusing on the environmental impact of fashion industries, it is everything that happens on the earth. One thing I find it really laudable is that the organization doesn’t accept any donation from the government or corporations, but individual supporters and foundation grants (introductions from their website). It keeps the organization and the website’s impartiality. The link I listed above is an article on their website that talks about the water pollution of fast fashion. There are also other articles about other fields of pollution of fashion industry.

There is also another page I find it interesting in this website. They had a rank in 2012 (http://en.thefashionduel.purplenetwork.it/ranking/) that evaluated the environmental impact of many top brands in fashion. Surprise, Valentino is on the top, which is relatively greener than the others.

 

B. Conduct independent research on Social Resiliency. Describe an example of social resilience that you would share with friends and family. Why might social resilience be important in the context of climate change? How important do you think it is for designers to consider and encourage resiliency among people in their work? Why? What is an experience you have had, or an object/design that you have, that supports social resiliency in you?  (i.e. makes you feel stronger, not alone, connected to the earth, other people, animals, the planet, prepared, capable and able to deal with changes etc.)

 

I’m not sure if I understand Social Resiliency correctly. I feel like card games are really social resilient. Nowadays, people get together and just looking at their phones without interacting. Think back to the period that we don’t have phones: people gathered and played card games. Everyone was involved. Social resilience is important in climate change. Once the interaction between people increases, people are actually going back to a more organic way of living. Then, there is not enough effort on developing new technology that may destroy the environment and cause climate change. Designs make life better, so designers should put living at the most important position. As social resiliency makes life better (may slow down climate change), designers should emphasize social resiliency in their designs. In this summer, I was playing a card game with my friends. Once we met, we put down the phones and focused on playing. The cards are portable, and could be used for very long time. The game requires some knowledge background of Chinese history, so we even became more curious than we were at school learning history… Another good thing about this card game is that we could play at any place, even on the bus.