Crafting waste: a re-evaluation of a furniture practice

The fundamentals of design provide tools and a way of thinking that is universal and transferable-design can be applied to anything at anytime. Everything around us, particularly the built environment and the 'stuff' we use - and the often-resulting waste - has been an act of design. Design, therefore, could be a powerful mechanism, an influential force and a potential driver for change. Although still often approached as simply a styling or aesthetic exercise, design is rather a highly complex activity consisting of a combination of social, cultural, ethical, historical, environmental, technological, economic and even emotional layers. Through practice-led research I have been re-evaluating my understanding of design and how this can be distilled and applied to the field of furniture. By combining high-level practical skill and craft sensibilities fused with standard manufacturing technology (computer numeric control), I am approaching my work with an aim to reimagine how the utilisation of ubiquitous 'stuff'-material that would otherwise be generally classified as domestic waste-can be adapted, reused or reappropriated into potential objects of value. The outcomes of this research currently comprise several pieces that are experimental in material use and serve strictly as furniture prototypes. Acting as case studies that seek to identify an alternate approach to design, this work aspires to give value and meaning to objects through materials deemed to have none.