Individually Unique. Together Complete.

There is one thing that we all have in common, worldwide. We are all apart of the textile industry, whether it is apparel or interior. Some people take pride in being unique and individual and some people could careless what their clothes or house looked like. However, I do believe everyone is unique and creative in his or her own way. I think most people find pleasure in expressing themselves through what they wear or how they interior spaces appear. It gives people a sense of identity and comfort within themselves. I understand that some people do not think that these two factors are important and do not really understand the concept of the two, and that is why we are here to help consumers get it.

After this weeks reading from Fuad-Luke, I have learned the value of the concept of design activism. There is an important combination of staying unique as individuals and being environmentally aware of our collective design ideas. My design idea stems off of my last post about taking leather, plastic and cotton accessories such as purses and transforming them into pillows. Although I am an apparel student, I find myself spending more time decorating my house and wanting to buy or reupholster interior goods. And so I began to think about how to relate design activism to my interests.

My design concept is to have a company that focuses strictly on personalizing interior products in a sustainable way. The client could meet up with a designer from the company and work on different combinations of taking purses, shoes and other clothing and turning them into pillows or reupholstered furniture. This would allow the client to recycle and reuse materials they have lying around their house and still maintain their unique style. I feel that this company and concept would satisfy the needs to a broad market of older women who have collected purses and materials throughout the years and feel a need for a change while meeting their utilitarian and aesthetic needs.

Throughout this enjoyable course I have learned the basic of sustainability as well as the in-depth problems we face as consumers and designers. I have also learned that we are all innovators and are capable of finding solutions to the problems, we just have to step up to the challenge. I enjoyed the blog buddy system because it gave me multiple perspectives and insight on topics I would have never thought of. I would like to learn more about the upcycling process and become more educated with companies that meet these sustainable standards.