The beauty comes only from the paper itself
Spring DIY Design Contest has come to an beautiful end with the winners represented different way to use the Vietnam traditional paper. We talked to Diane Wager, who won 2nd palce at the competition convincingly with her folded lamp, to share with her the feeling of being won in a foreign contest and the reason why she so passionates to Vietnam traditional paper as well as making handmade things.
I was so excited when I heard that I’ve won the second place of Zó Project DIY Contest, it’s my first design contest and based on the Facebook thus I wasn’t supposed to be on the podium so I didn’t believed I could still won. Its such an honor though cause i really wanted to help do paper to get known by everyone.
I’m a French product designer, I studied in the fine arts and came to Vietnam to learn from your wonderful culture and special skills. I’m very interested in traditional crafts specially when they tend to be lost like do paper, i think it’s so important to perpetuate traditions and not to forget about our past to be able to have a future.
A friend of mine told me about do paper and i was immediately interest by this material, i wanted to do something with it and was lucky cause the contest took place a few days after :) I was hoping that everybody could see how beautiful, imperfect yet perfect, pure and natural dó paper was. By making a lamp out of it, it emphasizes on the transparency of the paper and you can see all the irregularities that makes dó paper so special and simply delicate, reminding how it’s made by hand with love, passion and knowledge. Doing origami means that you don’t cut or add anything, the beauty comes only from the paper itself, another way to highlight it’s beauty, do paper doesn’t need anything more to be beautiful or existed, it’s already breathtakingly elegant in a way you not can ont only see but feel.
Diane Wagner
France is actually struggling to preserve it’s traditional craft and knowledge. There’s more and more young designers and companies trying to promote French traditions that has gone lost or are about to get lost (I’m thinking about shoes like tropéziennes, charentaises or espadrilles, knifes like opinel or laguiole, and of course food! give me mustard, charcuterie or cheese and wine!) .It’ll be pity that Vietnam faces the same fact. These are the essences of who we are as a country and people, let's not forget them!
Design won 2nd place at the competition
I’ve seen a lot of different and amazing weaving techniques here, each ethnic has it’s own patterns, fabrics and colors, the results are always amazing. Like the batik dying, have you seen theses colors?The details? And it’s all so natural! Also the Cơtu who weaves fabrics with pearls IN it, all that with 2 wooden sticks on their foot and back. And there is so much more; the traditional mask from paper maché, the bamboo hats and fans, all the bamboo and rattan objects, ect. There’s too many ( and the food too of course, but that should stay for a while.
What you ( Zó Project) are doing with do paper is amazing, we are lucky to have you fighting to preserve it and your doing good! Last but not least, i’d love to know more about it’s manufacturing and the people who are making it and i’m definitely not the only one.