Organic Wool Rug Tiles
Designer: Christien Meindertsma
“A lot of the value of a product lies in knowing where it comes from, how it grows, and in what amounts. This information tends to get lost when things are made all around the world and not in your own backyard.”
Material: Wool (sheeps)
Location: Lava Lake Ranch, Idaho
Problem: Sheep ranching has been part of local economy since the late 1800’s. The ranchland preserves mammal migrations by connecting public lands, but development is depleting the open landscape.
Product: Hand knitted rug tiles which connect to one another to make a larger rug. Each tile is 3.5 lbs, which is the yield of one sheep. The hexagon shape represents an abstract profile of the sheep.
Chicle Latex Vases
Designer: Hella Jongerius
Material: Chicle Latex
Location: Maya Forest, Mexico
Problem: The major use for chicle has been in chewing gum, but now most companies have switched to artificial additives, leaving the people who harvest chicle with no one to sell it to. The chicleros are abandoning the Mayan forest in search of better economic opportunity. The land will be left available for road construction, agricultural expansion, and tourist development. If the forest is depleted, with it will go the largest cat population in North America.
Product: Vases with Latex used as decoration.
Product Development
I chose to develop Hella Jongerius’ concept of using chicle as a bonding agent. I wanted to transform her idea into a useful product that could be sold and used in Mexico. I believe that keeping the product cycle within the local economy would be more financially supportive for the chicleros and would help to sustain local culture and community. “Zurcido Chicle” is natural chicle latex sold in a coil form so that it can be used to bond broken ceramics (such as vases). The coil is pressed onto one side of the break, then the other side of the break is pressed on top and the excess is scraped off. When the chicle dries, the ceramic is mended. “Zurcido Chicle” would be sold in multiple colors to match different ceramics. The Product could also be used on other materials or as a replacement for caulk.
1 comment:
Leigh Ann,
This is an important focus you have stated - to create a local, sustainable economy around a unique material. Often we are drawn to taking a design opportunity abroad - particularly in a culture in "need" - and transforming it into a marketable product in the U.S. - but what you are suggesting is a much less wasteful - and potentially much more feasible strategy. What it would require over a long haul project (which this assignment was not, but this is something to think about if you or your class mates are working with international communities of use) is meaningful research into the needs of the local community. How would you - as an outsider - determine the needs of the local community? Who might you seek out as an expert? What assumptions would you need to check?
Your diagrams are quite clear. Good work.
-Patty
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