“Arrange whatever pieces come your way.” —Virginia Woolf
(image via SalvagedNature on Etsy)
Design for Disassembly consists of considering the whole life cycle of a product, from cradle to grave. It is about choosing smart materials for the product that can easily be recycled or reused. It is also about considering the form of the product, that it is easy to disassemble and the materials are separate facilitating the recycling process.
A full, and fully considered assessment, here: Design For Disassembly by Andrea Dahlen « Culture of Design
A while back, we tapped into discussion about “derelict chic” in this post. The underlying issue — precisely how do ideas around reuse relate to ideas around uniqueness or even “luxury” — comes up again via this recent article:
How much would you pay for a handbag made from truck tarpaulins and bottle caps?
Ilaria Venturini Fendi’s “dragon” bags, stitched together from reclaimed wood, PVC, vintage drawer pulls and fabric and leather remnants, sell for as much as $2,200. Her bracelets made from rubber toy tires—inscribed “Before Toy Tyre Now Bracelet”—sell for $320.
What do you think?
More: Carmina Campus: A Fendi Scion Makes Trash Into Handbags - WSJ.com
Earlier Unconsumption mention of Fendi’s work here.
At the 2012 Bangkok Design Festival, which opened this week, sculpture made from thousands of used plastic bags helps make a public statement about waste.
Basurama, a group of architects from Spain, coordinated the plastic project.
See additional photos via the Bangkok Design Festival here, and Basurama here.
Christopher White of Revitalized Artistry is currently in school but on the side he specializes in taking old mid-century furniture and giving it a second chance.
More: Refinished and Reloved Furniture by Revitalized Artistry - Design Milk
Naomi Paul’s ‘OMI’ pendant collection is a series of lamps developed using surplus material - typically from the fashion industry - sourcing mercerized cotton and silk which she crochets by hand to form each one. ‘
“Tom Kipgen makes radios using vintage parts and hand-wound coils. Absolutely stunning stuff.”
A fun gallery of repurposing inspiration: Creative Ways to Repurpose and Reuse Old Stuff » Design You Trust
Welcome to A Piece Of Cleveland. We love our city. We love its history, its character and its potential. We created APOC to preserve this rich history by telling a story and turning unwanted materials into furniture and other products that will increase their value.
About the project, here: A Piece of Cleveland Ensures That the Past Isn’t Lost in the Upcycle | Business on GOOD
Excerpt:
Chris Kious … spent five years working for a Cleveland community development organization, working on an inventory of around 100 abandoned houses in just one neighborhood. Thanks to depopulation, foreclosures, and antiquated floor plans—think one bathroom, no garage—thousands of century-old homes have been left to crumble throughout the city. These properties correlate with lower property values for neighbors, higher crime rates, squatters, drugs—and so, according to the City of Cleveland Building and Housing Department, the city has proactively demolished 6,323 homes since 2006. It’s a needed service, but history is often lost as these old homes are razed. Just as importantly, a stream of raw material is trucked off with each demolition.
Elsewhere in Cleveland was designer P.J. Doran, an artist and craftsman who had been making “things” from garbage picks, leftovers and salvaged building materials since he was a kid. As he developed into a tradesman in the home construction industry, he was staggered and frustrated by the immense waste involved in new construction, and so he began designing and building custom furniture from reclaimed materials. His work was a spark of inspiration, and in 2007, Kious and Doran recognized an opportunity. A Piece of Cleveland got its start, and from carefully deconstructed homes on the city’s demolition list, new feature walls, counter tops, tables and chairs are reborn.
Carla Peters from Wonderable exhibited her adorable collection of Fair Trade pendant lamps, that are constructed by artisans using recycled waste paper collected from Vietnamese printing companies.
More: Inhabitat
Designer Kelly Caruso is a recent grad with a degree in Furniture Design and Woodworking but it’s her Recycled Pendant Lamps that really caught our attention….
A local restaurant gave her avocado crates that she disassembled and sewed into the various shapes you see here. The layering of the concave disks allows light to pass through creating really interesting shadows.
