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Drafts in WHITE
BundledBox
Issue 10

January 2025

By Dana Harel

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Funny how certain images stay with you from childhood–like the bindle, a cloth wrapped bag of belongings carried by runaway kids or free-spirited wanderers in American folklore. It is a symbol of freedom, of leaving everything behind, embracing the unknown, and rebelling against the rigidity of everyday life.

I wanted to honor that spirit of defiance but also to create something that had more structure. And so I turned to furoshiki, the Japanese art of wrapping and tying cloth around objects. The practice is intentional and beautiful, a kind of practical poetry.

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When I first set out to design a box for the Jones Institute’s current show, I sought to create a piece that embraces and protects its contents yet remains flexible. Instinctively, I gravitated towards designing something soft and padded. The bindle became my inspiration.

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While the bindle suggests a haphazard, almost reckless packing of one's possessions, furoshiki is a refined practice of care and aesthetic consideration. So, I brought these two ideas together—one messy and free, the other deliberate and refined—to create a piece that entwines the chaotic charm of a bindle with the protective nature of a box.

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Drafts in WHITE are bimonthly notes from our studio – inspirations, illuminations, and cultural explorations. 

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Images:

White Dirt photography by Nikki Gerdes.

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