When Clothes aren’t just for wearing: Rememberme Chairs by Tobias Juretzek

ometimes it’s funny how feelings or opinions are shaped by context. Like when you stare at piles of unwanted clothes sitting in your closet and you think  “I’m never going to wear this stuff, I need to take it to the thrift store” but when you see piles of unwanted clothing at the thrift store you’re like “Ooooh look at all these possible outfits!” Well for German designer Tobias Juretzek when he was faced with piles of unwanted clothing he saw beyond their wear ability or lack there of, he saw furniture.

A student of furniture design exhibition architecture, Tobias constructs chairs and tables using recycled clothing and textile resin that he combines together then presses into a mold to create the furniture’s shape. Each piece is made from 13 pounds of clothing which Tobias collects from various sources including friends, second hand stores and even his own wardrobe.

The chairs and tables are entitled Rememberme, a name that befits part of their purpose as a way to hold on to our memories while creating something new with them. Tobias himself says it best “Rememberme chairs want to achieve more than pure functionality. Instead of being a dumb servant, it tells an individual story. Every chair is unique through its material and gets its own expression. The characteristics of the clothes thereby convert to a language. Clothes carry numerous adventures and stories. The chair transports these to a new expression. This illustrative exposition invites the spectator to exciting stories.”

The creation of each chair or table results in a functional piece that is one of a kind and unique in its color combinations, patterns and textures, reflecting an individual’s past while simultaneously creating a new future for the clothing.

Tobias’ pieces are amazing not only because they coexist within the past and present on a personal level but they also embody how our past can help us achieve a sustainable future. These chairs and tables show us the potential of clothing beyond fashion as well as the infinite ways in which recycling can be practiced.