Visi – July 2019

NO

13

PHOTOS

MARIJKE WILLIAMS

PRODUCTION

ANNEMARIE MEINTJES

WORDS

MELISSA WENTZEL

O�

THE

U�

Unique, unexpected and

upcycled, Tessa Sonik’s

collection of one-off rugs

and panels has an artistic

thread woven throughout.

For more than
25 years, Tessa
Sonik Fabrics has
spear headed local
inter pretations
of inter national
trends and forged
new ones. The com­
pany was the first to pair high fashion
with “bland” corporate fabric – a game
changer for the office aesthetic.
Well established as a fabric house,

the brand recently diversified into

high­end home furnishings and

premium offerings for the corporate

and hospitality industries.

Owner Tessa Sonik places emphasis

on environmental awareness – many of

the fabrics are produced locally, and

some of the 100% polyester yarns are

made from recycled plastic bottles.

“I have long been inspired by the urban

miners you see around Johannesburg

with their trolleys who recycle and

upcycle,” says

Tessa. “I thought,

how could we

do that with

fabric? How do

we reinstate

good fabric that

would other wise

be unused or

discarded?”

This no­waste

philosophy is

at the essence

of the latest

collection, UP­Art. “This is all about UP:

UP­cycle, UP­skill and UP­lift,” she adds.

The first UP collection, UP­Japan,

released in 2018, was an exclusive

printed and dyed range. Both UP

collections focus on the creation of

some thing new from existing fabrics

with out com pro mising on design.

According to Tessa, a big part of

the UP­Art collection is the bespoke,

personal quality of the off­off panels

and rugs. Their hand­crafted nature is

clearly evident in the dying, stitching

and embellishments that make up the

asymmetrical designs.

Creating the rugs “is a magical

three­part process to bring fragments

to life,” explains Tessa.“An original

remnant of rug from around 1870 is

sewn onto hemp cloth from the 1950s.

The two periods are then commingled

through dyeing and stitching,

transforming the rug into an amazing

2019 art piece for a floor and possibly

a wall.”

tessasonik.com

An original Persian rug on a hemp base, upcycled through dying and stitching,

R23 430 (137 cm x 187 cm).

Blue Big Patch
Stitching UP-Art
panel, R1 355
(60 cm x 60 cm).

visi.co.za JUNE/JULY 2019 150

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