Stitching the scenery around you into elaborate embroidery may not be the modern way of capturing and preserving one’s memories. This decidedly unconventional way, however, led Singapore-based textile designer Teresa Lim to start her project called Sew Wanderlust where she documents various locations around the world through the medium of sewing. It is an ongoing work which began in 2014, when Lim was at the beach and wished to take a photograph of the sunset, except her phone battery had died. The only things she had on her then were her craft supplies, therefore she decided that she would embroider the scene instead. And that was how her on-going project took flight.
Teresa graduated from Lasalle College of the Arts with a First Class BA Honours degree in Fashion Design and Textiles. As she has mentioned on her website, her design seeks to blur the lines and boundaries between being an illustrator and being a textile designer. Her design philosophy is, as mentioned in her website, to fuse her three passions–illustration, embroidery, and surface pattern design.
Lim professes that she gets inspired by books and characters she meets everyday. Even at the very young age of 24, she has showcased her work in exhibitions as well as in fashion shows in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Tokyo. She has also been featured in various websites, magazines and newspapers including CNN, The Guardian, Daily Mail UK, and Design Taxi, among others.
In her own words, Lim describes why she began the project,
I started the project late 2014 after I realised that with today’s state of the art technology, taking pictures becomes so easy. I wanted something more from my travels, to be able to take back a part of that place with me. When I’m done with a piece, I actually feel like I KNOW that place, and that gives me a huge sense of satisfaction that I think just taking a photo wouldn’t give.
Teresa’s work can be found and her project funded on her website. Her work can also be found on her Instagram account.
