It’s a major annoyance when you flip the switch on a minor appliance and the damn thing doesn’t turn on. More often than not, the problem can be fixed relatively easily with the right know-how (which most of us lack), so sadly these “broken” objects end up as landfill fodder before their time has truly come. French designer and RCA graduate Gaspard Tiné-Berès started researching Short Circuit to find different solutions for these “waste” items.
After taking apart and testing tons of component parts to understand their commonalities and how best to get them functioning again, he developed a series of goods that combines repaired elements with new, CNC-milled cork accents that don’t require the skills of master craftsmen to create. He recently established RE-DO Studio with friend Tristan Kopp to focus on projects like this sustainably inclined and up-cycle friendly, and set up shop at Bright Sparks, a re-use center in north London that specializes in giving life back to objects presumed dead.
For Tiné-Berès, it’s more than a clever concept, it’s a viable business model. “We aim to make participatory workshops in order to train kids and young adult about electrical knowledge and up-cycling” he tells Co.Design of his hopes to establish an entire infrastructure around the production.
“We believe that for a social enterprise to succeed, it needs to be profitable, which is why we would like to push the design as far as possible in order to create a high-quality commercial product.” Together, the team is producing a collection and hopes to launch the kettle later this year. ( By Jordan Kushins from www.fastcodesign.com ) For more information we invite you also to follow the links bellow.