Janne’s laundry bag.

Happy objects is an Australian Design Centre exhibition exploring the value of objects in our lives. We asked Janne Ryan to share with us a 'happy object' and tell us a story about this object.

Janne Says:

My happy object is an old linen bag with hand-done embroidery, passed down from my mother who ‘inherited’ it from her mother (my grandmother), who inherited it from her mother, and so on. I am not sure who made it way back, or how far back it goes in the family. The cotton used in the embroidery might reveal its history more exactly.

It’s wearing out, obviously, but has so much life to still live out. As I don’t have a daughter I am not sure who will ‘inherit’ it from me. It’s been mended a lot, but not in my time. I treat it as a very delicate object.

That said, I use it every day, it hangs on my bedroom door and it always speaks to me – catches my attention – when I walk by or see it across the way.

It follows the washing cycle, from gathering the clothes needing to be washed, to sitting in the washing basket as the clothes get washed and hung out on the line.

I rarely wash it ... I’m so worried it will disintegrate!

Janne Ryan is a Sydney-based ideas curator, founder, and angel investor working across innovation, design and architecture, and start-up philanthropy projects.