You may recall a while back we asked Natalie Smith to tell us about one of her most cherished possessions.
This time round we asked for a glimpse of Sydneysider Lauren Davidson's collection of treasures. Lauren and her parther Simon De Graaf are behind online boutique Girl & Graaf.
Not surprisingly, given Girl & Graaf's breezy travelly vibe, Lauren chose cherished objects from one of her journeys...
'I bought this set of decorative Banania tins whilst living in Bordeaux, France. At the time, I was completely unaware of Banania’s status as a cultural artefact and chose them for the sole purpose of brightening up my bedroom.
'As such, I was completely unprepared for the barrage of political commentary on my new purchase (courtesy of my socialist flatmate) when I unpacked them in our kitchen! I quickly learned that, although essentially just a popular cocoa drink in France, the colonialist depiction of a Senegalese infantryman in Banania’s branding has garnered its fair share of controversy over the years (and rightly so).
'I hold these pieces close to my heart today because in a way they represent my initiation into the complexities of French culture – one aspect being its tense relationship with its colonial past. They act as a bright yellow reminder of my transition from "tourist" to "traveller" – something I was terribly proud of at the age of 20.'
