Swell

Welcome to Swell, an exhibition of Future Friendly Design

Human beings are wired to imagine, create, experiment and innovate. We also love to consume the new, the novel, the beautiful, the convenient, the useful and the disposable. We are prolific creators and consumers.

Increasingly people from all walks of life are questioning what effect all of this creation and consumption is having on society and our planet. What will the future hold for us if we continue to take more from the earth than it can sustain or if we continue to allow toxins from our industry to accrue in our food, soil, water and our bodies.

Lets take a step forward into the future. Imagine a future where our garbage could be used to nurture plants and trees, everything could be recycled when it was no longer useful, energy was virtually free and toxic materials were replaced by those so healthy that they were safely edible. What would it take to achieve such a future?

The path to our sustainable future demands the full range of human creativity, ingenuity and innovation. It demands that we investigate diverse approaches to creating a material culture that is not at odds with nature but acts in concert with it. It demands that we consider every aspect of how the objects that we create are made: who makes them, from what materials, under what conditions, how long will they last and what happens to them when we are done with them.

Swell presents the work of a diverse group of people - designers, artists, craftspeople, and artisans from around the globe - whose work takes a myriad of approaches to the challenge of creating sustainable design. Each product exhibited in Swell shows some combination of sustainable strategies at work. Our hope is that by bringing these exceptional designs together in close quarters, new connections will be made, new directions will become apparent, new fires will be lit and one more step will be taken toward the promise of Future Friendly Design.

Propellor Design, March 2006.

15 FACETS OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

LOCAL

Produced in Greater Vancouver. Buying local products supports the local economy and helps foster unique local design. Buying local also reduces the need for packaging and shipping.

RECYCLED

Made from waste materials or designed to be easily recycled at the end of their lifespan. In some cases a product may employ a combination of these strategies.

CERTIFIED

Vetted by organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to meet strict ecological standards.

ORGANIC

Made from materials that are organically grown, without the use of harmful pesticides or petroleum fertilizers.

RENEWABLE

Made from natural resources that are grown and harvested in a manner that insures the viability of the resource for future generations.

SOCIAL

Produced in a socially responsible manner. These products may comply with fair trade practices, they may employ cooperative labor or actively seek to build community as a by-product of their production.

HANDCRAFTED

Produced by human labor. Handcrafted products are endowed with warmth, personality, uniqueness and even flaws, that make them particularly valuable in our age of machine built homogeneity.

BIODEGRADABLE

Biodegradable products return to the earth. They may even decompose into nutrients that will help nurture the growth of new materials or foods.

LONGEVITY

Long lasting products become heirlooms. When a product is a thing of great beauty, exhibits extraordinary craftsmanship, exceptional originality or utility, it can last for centuries and enrich both our material and aesthetic cultures.

OPEN SOURCE

Some ideas are just too good not to share. Open source designs are free to use, modify and redistribute. The intention of open source design is to allow others to use and improve upon an idea in order to benefit society as a whole.

REPURPOSED

Products or materials that are reused at the end of their intended lifecycle for a new purpose. Repurposed products keep valuable materials out of landfills and incinerators by giving them a new life. The results are often unexpected and delightful.

EFFICIENT

Energy or materials saved through considered design. Efficient products optimize the use of materials, minimize waste and conserve energy in their production, transport or use.

ALTERNATIVE

Alternative energy sources are employed to power the product. Wind it, shake it, crank it or harness the sun, wind or water. The result is clean, efficient, endless energy.

WABI SABI

Appreciation of the humble, incomplete and impermanent. Wabi Sabi is the Japanese aesthetic that points to the beauty of imperfection. This concept is a tonic for our obsession with perfect objects that become disposable when scratched or dented.

CLEAN

Clean products strive to reduce or eliminate toxins and contaminants in the materials and processes that are used to make them.

Our Thanks

Propellor Design would like to thank 30 Days of Sustainability for giving us the opportunity to create this extraordinary exhibition. We would also like to thank the long list of sponsors whose generosity makes 30 Days of Sustainability possible. Finally, we extend our thanks to all of the exceptional designers, artists and artisans who lent us their work for the exhibition. Their work inspires all of us to integrate sustainability into our daily lives.

www.propellor.ca