A DIY Guide to Growing Your Own Products

There is a rising interest of the public to access products and services made of local materials, created in an ethical manner. The results of such demand points towards products sensitive to their environment and respectful to the available resources and social groups involved in their production. Native Products is an initiative that could act as a stepping point towards the exploration of alternative mediums and processes of the production cycle.

Papairlines have developed a workshop sequence through which flora is transformed into paste that can be later used as raw material to cast objects. The process uses household tools and herbs. From growing the raw materials to manufacturing the final product, the project aims to immerse participants in the narrative of product lifecycle, design, ecology and ethical production. During the final stages of the project an open workshop takes place for visitors to participate in the different stages of processing the raw materials and creating small utilitarian objects, grown, designed and produced in a specific geographic location.

A first edition of Native Products was realised at The Barbican Centre in London as part of Hack the Barbican initiative, in August 2013.

author

Papairlines (design experimentation, research & curation) are the first no-budget airlines founded in 2011 by Vasso Asfi, Costas Bissas and Loukas Angelou between Athens and London. Operating “design flights”, papairlines use travel as a metaphor to draw connections between aesthetics and usability, process and result, stereotype and evolution, behaviour and emotion.

Papairlines experiment through designing experiences that promote lateral thinking and illustrate alternative design approaches with a series of actions including exhibitions, talks, seminars and workshops.

Loukas graduated from Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London with a BA in Product Design. He has also completed a course in 3D Design focusing on ceramics, glass and jewelry design. He has collaborated as a product designer with companies such as Procter & Gamble, habitat and Ikea. He got involved as a freelance designer with Paul Cocksedge and VW+BS (viewport studio) in projects for Swarowski Palace, BMW and Poliform. Also he has worked with Bib&Sola for the conception and design of their first set of products. Today finds Loukas as the co-founder of StudioLav (studiolav.com) and papairlines with whom he collaborated with Hayward Gallery, Industrial Gas Museum, Barbican Centre, H&M, Skoufa Gallery and Benaki Museum.

Vasso studied Interior Design in Athens and Industrial Design at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London. She has collaborated as a design consultant with companies including Vodafone, LG Electronics, L’Oreal, Louis Vuitton Group and organisations such as Barbican Centre, Camden Council, Benaki Museum and Industrial Gas Museum in projects that combine the principles of Interior Design and the know-how of Industrial Design. In 2011 she co-founded with Loukas Angelou the design studio StudioLav for the work of which they have been nominated for the International Award Young Talent of the Year 2013 by Elle Decoration (EDIDA) and BIO 23 Design Award at the Biennial of Design in Ljubljana in 2012 under the category Back to Crafts.

Costas (costasbissas.com) is a design consultant based in Greece, his professional interest lies between design, technology and wellbeing, focusing on the use of design as a creative tool for the development of innovative products and services. Beyond his personal practice, he channels his energy through creative collaborations and collectives. In 2010 he relocated to Athens from the Scottish Highlands where he was researching and developing experiences, prototypes and products that explored the use of new media technology for the benefit of rural and remote areas. In all his efforts while living for 2.5 years next to the Loch Ness, he never managed to locate the monster.

website

www.papairlines.org

country

Greece, UK

year

2013-15