My name is Aileen Tran and I was born in Portland, Oregon. I studied Product Design at the University of Oregon, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2018. 

 

Growing up I found that the only things I owned came from thrift stores, garage sales, and free piles. I had a bad habit of taking things home that I didn't need. Sometimes it was because an object made me laugh, sometimes I thought I needed it, and sometimes I took things just because they were free. As I got older I continued to have a hard time getting rid of my stuff. I couldn't figure out why I had such an attachment to these objects. I later realized that they were so sentimental to me, because each piece held stories. These stories were memories of where I found them, the times in my life I used them, as well as the curiosity I had of who owned it before me, and the kind of life that person might have lived.