2022 Year in Review: Circular by Design
The circular economy focuses on recycling previously used materials and waste by putting those same resources back into the world in a new form, without taking away anything else from the environment. Design Milk contributor Katie Treggiden explores the ways waste can be used through the incredible products being made by those dedicated to the cause. Here’s everything she covered in Circular by Design’s 2022 posts.
Darren Appiagyei Turns Wood From Fallen Trees Into Hand-turned Vessels
Darren Appiagyei’s work highlights the intrinsic beauty of wood and celebrates features such as knots, cracks, bark, or distinctive grain, which are often seen as flaws. He works only with wood from fallen trees that would otherwise be chopped up for firewood and turns them into vessels.
Corrie Williamson Makes Jewelry + Mobiles From Offcuts of Other Makers’ Work
Corrie Williamson makes jewelry and hanging mobiles – which she describes as “jewelry for the home” – from wooden and metal offcuts that are leftover from the work of other designer-makers, usually of larger objects such as furniture and musical instruments.
Green&Blue Turns Clay Waste Into Habitats for Birds, Bees, and Bats
Green&Blue design make a range of habitat products for different species with the Bee Brick, their innovative home for solitary bees. It’s becoming a planning requirement within new builds in three counties across the UK – Cornwall, Brighton, and Dorset.
Jamie Norris Green Turns Scallop and Oyster Shells Into Lighting
By combining traditional handcrafting with digital technology and machinery, Jamie Norris creates one-off or small runs of unique lighting pieces that are often infinitely customizable. They’re 3D printed on demand to reduce waste and made from a bio-degradable polymer that includes waste oyster and scallop shells.
Sarah Christensen Makes Home Accessories From Used Coffee Grounds
Sarah Christensen often felt a disconnect between her work as a furniture designer-maker and her personal values, so she decided to bring them closer together. She now works with waste to create home accessories using coffee waste from a local café.
Henry Swanzy Makes Acoustic Wall Tiles From Wood + Chocolate Waste
Henry Swanzy has been investigating his own waste streams as well as those of local businesses as a source of raw materials for new products. He mass produces these acoustic wall tiles – HexBix – for function as well as the conversations they can create.
Claire Ellis Makes Vessels From Waste Clay, Eggshells, Glass, and More
While working as a chef at one of the world’s best restaurants, Claire Ellis began making tableware for the tasting menu and followed by created a ceramics studio within the restaurant.
Monostudio Associati Makes Tiles From Marble Waste, Coffee Grounds, and Eggshells
Semplicemente Circolare is a collection of floor and wall tiles produced with ground marble salvaged from dark-toned remains of sacks in combination with eggshells, light-toned marble granules, and spent coffee grounds. Different combinations and ratios result in different colors, patterns, and textures.
Spared Turns Waste Coat Hangers + Sugar Cane Into the XOU Light
A start-up from the team behind Volume Creative, Spared is a creative service working with businesses to turn their waste into beautiful objects, their first available product being the XOU Light.
Síofra Caherty Turns Tarps, Waste Leather, and Airplane Straps Into Bags
Jump The Hedges, founded by Síofra Caherty, has a material- and waste-led approach to product creation that ensures waste material is fully utilized to create valuable, long-lasting products. Bags are created from reclaimed truck tarpaulin, airplane seat parts, and waste leather.
Juliane Fink Makes Edible Dog Food Bowls From Pig Bladders
This single-use dog bowl utilizes a waste product from meat production that’s naturally waterproof and foldable to create a bowl that’s lightweight, robust, and can be easily carried around in your pocket. After its use as a dog bowl, the product can be eaten by the dog – leaving no waste behind.
Smile Plastics Turns Yogurt Pots Into Terrazzo-Like Surface Panels
This materials design and manufacturing house creates hand-crafted, supersized panels for retail, architecture, interiors, and product design – all from waste. The sustainable materials used are from waste plastics collected from post-consumer and post-industrial sources.
