'We weave our music, we replay our cassette tapes.'
J.J. Chuan is a multi-local who has been working and living in Singapore, Malaysia, New York and Shanghai. Currently she based in Singapore which brings her closer to her family. J.J. creates rehyphen® with the aim of solving real-life problems. Run by mother-daughter duo, the brand produced all its product locally in Singapore. MusicCloth® was developed over 9 months of R & D by JJ and her mum in their home back in 2016 when she just moved back from New York and found a box of cassette tapes in her store room. Sentimentally reason, cassette tapes were part of the medium of communication of JJ and her best friend in school ( who moved to Australia ) when smartphones and social media had not been invented yet. They came out with a solution to record what they want to say, the music JJ composed, and their favourite song from radio in a cassette tapes, and sent it to each other. Cassette tapes is one of JJ's most memorable memory which she wants to bridge the gap between the past and the present, keeping the moment alive far beyond the moment itself. The idea of MusicCloth® enable her to create a treasured object that keep a memory contained.
According to the United E-waste Coalition, nearly 50 million tons of electronic waste was generated in 2018 and only 20 percent of that was recycled. There is 56 million kilograms of PLASTIC used to make physical cassette tapes since it first introduced to the world in 1963 based on a report 'The cost of music' from MIT press. rehyphen® used cassette tapes as a medium to build awareness of up-cycle design.
MusicCloth® swatches have been stored and are available in Material ConneXion® Library & University of Pennsylvania material lab. This material has been exhibited at TEDx as one of the idea worth spreading. Rehyphen® was selected by British TV host Kevin McCloud as Top 7 Green Heroes and showcased in London Grand Design and NYC x Design in 2018 & 2019 as a "NEW alarm" and a modern method of what it means to build an object. Red Dot Design Museum also included MusicCloth® as 100 global social design in their museum collection in 2020.
100% of proceeds support rehyphen program for saving PLASTIC waste.
More info: www.rehyphen.org