My standard
Illustration by Yoshifumi Takeda
Photography & Text by Amber Dohrenwend
Episode 7
Amber Dohrenwend
“UNIQLO denim is an old friend”
Cardboard artist
Born in 1978 in Michigan, Amber and her husband moved to Tokyo in 2008. In 2010, while raising her two daughters, she became intrigued with art made from cardboard. Celebrated for its organic curves and soft textures, her work has been showcased in installations for Trunk Hotel in Shibuya and in window displays for Hermès Ginza. These days, Amber has returned to the US, where she continues her creative practice.
“UNIQLO denim is an old friend”
Just as I use recycled boxes and cardboard for my artwork, I also try to wear secondhand clothes. For the past twelve years I’ve been committed to buying only used clothes, and I try to love them as much as I can, so that they’ll last. This is as much about my commitment to the environment as it is about creating simplicity and meaning in my life.
As an American in Tokyo, it was hard finding women’s clothes my size. That’s what prompted me to look around the men’s aisle of some of my favourite vintage shops in Koenji and Kichijoji. When I tried on these UNIQLO jeans for the first time, the fit was great and I knew I had found a good match. After a few YouTube tutorials, I hemmed the legs, took them in at the back, put a patch over an ink stain, and repaired the knees, all by myself. These are the jeans I love to sit in when I’m on the tatami floor working, and since I’ve repaired them to suit my specific needs, they feel authentically “me,” which makes them one of a kind.
I wear them basically every day in my studio, but sometimes I also wear them out to dinner, with an interesting shirt, or to a meeting. My oldest daughter, who’s thirteen, has a UNIQLO denim shirt dress (pictured upper left) that she loves to wear all the time. Like me, she feels most comfortable in denim, and her dress has developed its own vintage character through repeated wear.
Just as I use recycled boxes and cardboard for my artwork, I also try to wear secondhand clothes. For the past twelve years I’ve been committed to buying only used clothes, and I try to love them as much as I can, so that they’ll last. This is as much about my commitment to the environment as it is about creating simplicity and meaning in my life.
As an American in Tokyo, it was hard finding women’s clothes my size. That’s what prompted me to look around the men’s aisle of some of my favourite vintage shops in Koenji and Kichijoji. When I tried on these UNIQLO jeans for the first time, the fit was great and I knew I had found a good match. After a few YouTube tutorials, I hemmed the legs, took them in at the back, put a patch over an ink stain, and repaired the knees, all by myself. These are the jeans I love to sit in when I’m on the tatami floor working, and since I’ve repaired them to suit my specific needs, they feel authentically “me,” which makes them one of a kind.
Denim is such a beautiful and dynamic fabric. It just gets better as the years go by. I save the old jeans from my entire family and make them into cushions for our living room. The fabric is soft from all the wear, but also durable. With one look, everybody knows which patches came from their old clothes. As a kind of physical scrapbook, it’s such a fun conversation piece.
What I love about working with cardboard, and wearing denim for that matter, is not just that it’s good for the environment. It’s seeing how it changes over time. I’m forever wondering what could happen next for these materials, as we go through life together. That’s what keeps me feeling curious. Change is the only certainy.
Amber sits with children in an installation she created in her studio that evokes the roots of a big tree. In the past, she worked as an elementary school teacher. Even her larger works are often made with nothing more than a pair of scissors and a stapler.
