Sustainable, Renewable, Desirable: Meet Sweden’s Upcyling Icons
Quite often the best products are are result of collaborations and partnerships. The combination and sharing of experience and ideas quite often brings out the best results. Where eco design is concerned it is an almost invaluable tool when looking to create a product utilising waste materials or social enterprise.
Merry Go Round is such a collaboration between Design Stories , a Gothenburg based studio, and artisans and producers Returhuset, a recycling community workshop.
Together they have designed and developed products utilising industrial waste materials from local companies. The materials have lead the design process resulting in a upcycled table crafted from the functioning parts of abandoned tables and a eco friendly designer lamp made from unwanted waste material. “When we make products using good material previously labelled as junk, we turn it into a valuable resource”……
The drawstring lampshade fabric is a surplus stock from Svennson Markspelle originally used to filter sunlight. The design process is led by the materials found and the structure of this cloth creates the distinctive voluminous shade. The characteristics of the cloth also led the designers to manufacture complimentary cording with a local belt manufacturer in Gothenburg. The lamps are playful, desirable and come in a range of colours.
Design Stories consists of interior architect Sara Danielsson, product designer Kerstin Sylwan and textile designer Jenny Stefansdotter . The teams emphasis is on social and environmental issues and the implications this has on design and production. They often work with not for profit or social enterprise organisations. For more information please see the link.
Returhuset is a working and meeting place that recycles unwanted materials into new products whilst supporting job seekers back into employment. The items are also sold in our shop at Returhuset. You can also purchase the Merry go round complete collection online.
