TAN and Her Creator

The 3 Meanings behind TAN

There are 3 layers of meanings behind TAN.

1. A tanner is someone who makes leather, and washable paper is a more eco-friendly and cruelty-free leather alternative.

2. The original washable paper colour is tan.

3. There is a Chinese character 探 (tàn), which means to search or to explore. As much as we hope, nothing can be 100% sustainable, but the intension of TAN is to keep searching and exploring new and more sustainable ways. 

 

The Creator and Beginning of TAN

My name is Victoria, I’ve lived in a few countries and many different cities throughout my life. I’ve lived in China, the US, the UK, and I’m now rooting myself in Portugal. My design background is fashion design, architecture and sustainable design. 

 

I’m also a yogi, a self-healer, mindful practitioner, vegan for the animals, mother of five cats and plants, and many more roles. 

 

When I was studying fashion design in New York, I decided to change my path after three years, because at that time I was very focused on becoming a famous fashion designer to make my parents and myself proud. At some point, I started to feel that that goal didn’t align with the person I was, so I decided to change path. 

 

I moved to the UK and studied architecture, then took my MA (Master of Arts) degree in sustainable design. Back then, I was an active animal rights activist, so during the course of sustainable design, I did a few theoretical projects about how to have a sustainable relationship between humans and non-humans. 

 

There was a lot of fun creating theoretical projects, but as the last project of the course was approaching, I had to also start thinking about how I can sustain myself after graduating. And that’s when I recalled how many of my vegan friends had asked me about the bags that I’ve been using, which were all made out of washable paper that I bought when I was visiting my family in China. 

 

Many of them have mistaken at the beginning that they were leather because of the texture and shine it developed overtime. In fact, washable paper was first made to be a leather alternative. I was also surprised by how many people didn’t know about this material back then, and I thought this material deserves more attention, as it’s one of the more sustainable leather alternatives on the market. 

 

Although I love the washable paper bags I was using, they all came with parts that are made out of PU. So for my last project, I wanted to create a washable paper brand that includes more aspects of sustainability. 

 

During the designing process, after making a few prototypes, I noticed how inflexible and unforgiving this material can be when it's combined with sewing. During this same period of time, one of my washable paper bags that I bought also had its strap torn off due to the sewing making the material less strong. I started to think of better ways and solutions, then my playful inner child came out. 

 

As a child, I loved doing paper origami. I had books teaching me how to make everything by folding a piece of paper, flowers, animals, containers, furnitures, and the list goes on. You would find me sitting at the dinner table at restaurants doing origami out of a piece of chewing gum paper, while all the adults were having their conversations. 

 

"Shouldn't I try to use washable paper as a piece of origami paper, and see what I can come up with?" I thought to myself. I then took out a piece of paper and started folding, and very soon I had a transformable paper bag in my hand that's less than 10cm tall. And that was the real beginning of TAN.