Once Was Project

Grainy, sepia-toned photo of a person sitting on the ground at night beside a motorcycle and a car, in front of a Waffle House sign.

Once Was Project is a collaboration between Zim + Teemo and H.I.M Studios with a mission to showcase the use of unconventional or up cycled materials.
The inaugural Once Was Project took place in New York City between September 7- 10.
Everything showcased was made personally by the designers.

Left: Man in dark casual clothing holding a red cup standing outside a store with wooden framed glass doors and clothing rack with jackets. Right: Shearling-lined denim jacket hanging on a rack above a stool displaying colorful belts.

Left image shows a clothing rack with various plaid shirts, gray and neutral-colored tops hanging inside a room with exposed brick walls and two fans on the floor; right image shows a stack of instant photos with a woman wearing a denim jacket and marble-patterned dress standing under a green metal beam.

Left side shows a black abstract ink pattern on white paper; right side shows brown and blue tie-dye dresses hanging on white and pink hangers with a pink and black woven purse.

Two stacks of Polaroid photos with images of people; left stack shows two men sitting on a couch, right stack shows three men standing indoors.

Stack of Polaroid photos with top one showing three young men posing indoors, next to a black ink leaf print on white paper.

Left side shows black ink abstract prints on small white cards placed on a cardboard box labeled ONCE WAS PROJECT. Right side shows a person in a denim jacket and scarf holding a black textured object.

Left: Woman in an orange dress with button details and a fur-collar denim jacket posing on a city sidewalk near cars and a chalkboard sign; Right: Two Polaroid photos placed on books and fabric on a wooden floor.

Polaroid photo of a person sitting on a couch surrounded by hanging clothes on the left; on the right, a brown flyer with handwritten text about reuse and details for H.I.M Studios and Zim + Teemo event dates in September in New York City.