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Rediscovering fabrics
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An enterprising team breathes a fashionable new life into cast-off fabrics
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By Rebecca Zamon, photography by Angus Fergusson
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Behind every piece made by Echoes in the Attic lies a story-with none more compelling than that of its creator. “When the doctor said ‘you have breast cancer' three years ago, I looked behind me to see who he was talking to,” says Laura Jennekens (below, left), owner of the Ontario-based business that re-imagines pillows and purses from recycled fabrics. “I was 42 years old. Who'd have thought?”
Today the illness could be just a memory, if not for Jennekens's determination to turn it into a second chance. Using the time off from her busy career in commercials during her chemotherapy to “do some things I'd never done,” Jennekens hired now-partner Vicky Gerke (below, right) to teach her how to sew.
“When my hair started falling out, I had it cut off and sewn into a bandana I could wear,” Jennekens explains. “Combined with my sewing lessons, it all clicked. I realized everything can be recycled in some wonderful way.”
Echoes in the Attic boasts an ever-increasing line of products using cast-off fabrics combined with new materials. “I love the idea that the things people discard get a second chance, but the concept isn't new. This is how past generations lived,” says Jennekens. “Between my seven siblings and I, everything was used at least twice in our house.”
Visit www.echoesintheattic.com for more.
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