Luisa Cevese's Fossilized Textiles

Damaged fabrics made of precious yarns, stained tablecloths, old lace, and prayer rugs with worshipped-in holes are among the objects that end up in Luisa Cevese's hands. The Milan-based designer, who is known for fixing fabric remnants in resin for her Riedizioni line of bags and shades, has now begun transforming damaged textiles into more rarified art objects, mats, and rugs.

It was by chance that Cevese came upon the idea for the new pieces. "One time I got some remnants from a company, and I also received this very beautiful eighteenth-century textile with gold embroidery," she says. "They came from a sacred textile company that makes fabrics for priests."

The company is just one of many that supplies Cevese with silk and tie remnants for her Riedizioni line. She fixes these leftovers in large sheets of resin then cuts them into handbags, change purses, floor mats, place mats, and blinds. The industrial process--which Cevese started about 15 years ago--not only reclaims waste from the factory floor, but also creates products that are each slightly different because she only loosely controls the placement of the random scraps.

The arrival of the antique fabric sparked a new idea. "Getting that textile was purely accidental, but something clicked," Cevese says.