Renewable and biodegradable material (Made from recycle coffee grounds)
+
Innovation
=
PERFECTION
(of sustainable design)
No wonder the Spanish designer Raul Lauri, won the Salone Satellite award 2012 for the Decafe project. The perfect Decafe lamps made me want one of my own, and than made me go wondering where should I put that one, and that thought led me fantasying about my "other life": my other career, my other apartment in some other place in the world... - YES! It's escapism for the pure essence of it, and as Jordana Brewster said: "I think escapism is really important". And in that case, my upcycled - upper east side - living room - look collection - will be served on my next post...
Escapism {2} Watching a good movie starring: interior.
You can check my collection on pinterest.
The interior design of the movie The Ghost Writer (Roman Polanski).
For the Kulla girls sustainability is definitely in their blood. They drink from reused jam jars. Their place is full of lost vintage furniture waiting to be repaired. Their studio's design projects are usually characterized with community or environment contents (or both), such as designing agriculture children's farm. In general they believe in reduction instead of mass production.
The lab <2> Upcycle the shutters
Adi Shpigel and Keren Tomer go along since their product design studies at Shenkar College. At those times they have noticed a repetitive behavior - many people in Israel have changed their 60's plastic shutters for glass windows. After they have managed to get a stock of those hated shutters they started observing them, checking them and testing them. The solving of the shutters puzzle came from the side look of them - their profile. Than they could thread iron through the inner part of the shutter, and by that to strengthen it enough for seating. Another option they discovered to upcycle the shutter is to slice it, and than join the slices to a decorative screen.
The lab <3> Upcycle the sawdust
This time sawdust was in question. What could they do with it? How could they glue it? The girls tried time after time all sort of solutions until smoke was out of the "lab". One day they had their Eureka:-)! They cooked the sawdust together with reused-colored-nylon-shopping bags and for their surprise, it was the ultimate design complete solution, without using any glue and upcycling the bags as well.
The lab <4> The Liar- Truth-Teller Enigma
The famous puzzle from The Labyrinth (1986)
Left Door Knocker: It's very rude to stare! Sarah: Oh! I'm sorry, I was just wondering which door to choose. Left Door Knocker: What? Right Door Knocker: It's no good asking him, he's deaf as a post! Left Door Knocker: Don't talk with your mouth full! Right Door Knocker: I'm not talking with my mouth full, I... Sarah: Wait, wait, I can't understand you. Left Door Knocker: What were you saying? Right Door Knocker: Ah! Mm. Oh, oh, it is so good to get that thing out. ...
The solution: "Guard, what would the other guard say if I asked him where his door leads?”
"A relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark" Woody Allen, Annie Hall (1977)
--- Relationship {1} Harmony in the studio
Giga is playing with Tia which is caring for Cookie (their dogs) which is watching the Kozo (David) who is preparing tea for Anati (his wife) and me (their brand new friend:-), and on Thursdays nights he (the Kozo) converses with his best friends over a jam session.
--- Relationship {2} Flirting with the pipes
David has began his water pipes romance after he had finished studying at Shenkar college. He found couple of those sexy pipes in the street's waste, and tried a few things with them (a table for example). Once he made the connection with light, he was on fire!
Now days invitations are coming from all over the world (even from an Arab royal family).
To keep up the increasing demand, and to keep his sustainable agenda as well, he sometimes buys useless stocks from manufacture factories. Yet, for keeping the personal touch of each lamp, he has to make it on his own. Sometimes he still secretly puts together small old parts founded in the streets.
--- Relationship {3} With the "upcycle" idea
For David upcycling is a concept beyond the design field limits. For example it can be a cover for an old song, or a pie from leftovers in the fridge. They call it: Thursday's pie, (as Thursday is the last working day of the week for us).
---
Relationship {4} Light fixtures of the "Kozo":
Upcycle relationship with > "Mona" - Cooperation with the phenomenal illustrator Ola Liola Kushnir "Yo Mona Lisa, could I get a date on Friday and if your busy, I wouldn't mind taking Saturday"... (Fugees)
Upcycle relationship with > "Kozo" "Nobody fucks with the Jesus.” (The Big Lebowski) Upcycle relationship with > "Giga" "Shall we shag now, or shall we shag later?" (Austin Powers)
Upcycle relationship with > "KirZaz" “Demented and sad, but social.” (The Breakfast Club)
Upcycle relationship with > "Mimi" (Mi = Who?, in Hebrew) - This film and all the others of the "Kozo" made by Anati מתבייש קצת, מתרגש" רק אותה אני אוהב את מי? את מי? "את מימי (אילנה לופט ושלמה ידוב)
"I am a little ashamed, I am excited I love her only Who? Who? Mimi"
Light - in the "Kabbalah" they say you need only a small candle to light up a dark cave...
Spiritual speaking, I had my own enlightenment a few months ago. It was one afternoon in the playground, and BOOM! - there it was - a bright clear thought: I don't have to do what I was doing anymore...
Designing speaking - lighting is the most influencing design element, when exploring a new place.
Upcycling speaking - check out these lights:
Degross' designers found in their studio's back yard some glass bottles that I must say they were so beautiful at their original condition that I could just take them home like they were. Than, with a gifted talent and golden hands they made this wonderful breathtaking desk lamp. One of this purchases that I would if I could.
The "Making Of" - Utrem Lux - High (light) quality. I loved the soundtrack.
It goes like this: you take a plastic liter bottle, you put inside of it water, you put it on the roof in a kind of way that third of the bottle above the roof and the other part is below the roof, and you'll be surprised how lightening this is. That's the idea of The "liter of light" project, which is implemented in poor areas all over the world.
When you watch the above movie, you should put up in your mind that it is taking for a plastic bottle 450 year to decompose.
A can lantern - the DIY option
As a former graphic editor of the biggest wedding catalogue in Israel, I can't skip on a "Martha Stewart" kind of lantern. You can try this at home (thanks for Inhabitat)
Posca's markers were upcycled by the Ambiance's team, for a beautiful chandelier. 40 "dead" markers. Each marker has LED lights inside of it, making the original color glow in its glory. And the best part is that, all the lamps together use just 28 watts of power, less than half of a normal household globe.
I, for myself, can settle for a small candle if I have a good old friend and a good chat (and a good wine bottle)...
Since he was young, he was engineering almost everything he had founded in the streets into lighting, (lighted reused coca-cola / street signs were regularly hung in his room).
Chapter {2} Old things
"An old thing becomes new if you detach it from what usually surrounds it" Robert Bresson
After the death of his grandmother, Eyal cleaned her apartment and embraced all her stuff to his bosom.
When he was studying Architecture in Bezalel Academy, he was in an exchange student program in Berlin. There, he was introduced to all the fascinating flee markets in the area. In those frequent markets visits, he bought lots of old stuff and started his design-upcycle journey, which ended with beautiful ready made light fixtures.
Old thing: Salt shaker
Thing that light up: Armstrong
