If you take a closer look at the upcycle design, you may have noticed that it’s all about how to deal with waste and to view waste differently. In general, people just throw things away. Fortunately, more and more designers are looking at waste in a different way. And this leads to them seeing the untapped potential of waste. Of course, it is still necessary to recycle waste. But recycling still costs a lot of energy and causes pollution and CO2. And that’s why upcycling is so interesting. Many materials and objects can be given a second life and a new function. Just like this minimal lighting design in this post.
The second life of a welding spool
One of the designers using this ‘new’ approach is Dutch industrial designer Bastiaan Tolhuijs, founder of sustainable design company TOLHUIJS, based in Amsterdam | The Netherlands.
How to look at waste
Tolhuijs created SPOOL, which was once part of a welding machine. Welding wire is originally wound around the coil. After the coil is used up by the welder, this waste product is turned into a sustainable design lamp. The SPOOL pendant lamp is equipped with colored SKINS, or with welding wire (Deluxe version). The SPOOL floor lamp can be placed on the floor or on the table. There are also versions of the SPOOL as a wall lamp or ceiling lamp. SPOOL is a stunning and minimal lighting design and a great example of how Tolhuijs views waste.
Bastiaan Tolhuijs:
“A lot of energy is wasted on material from which we can still derive value!”
Reverse design
The way Tolhuijs designs is kind of reversed. They don’t make a design and then add the materials as most designers do. Their starting point is that they use what they have available. The design is created from the material and the production possibilities, resulting in an interesting product for the customer. Tolhuijs’ style is characterized as “simple, tough and honest.” The materials are visible, besides painting nothing is obscured.
Tolhuijs is a consumer brand for design products with an amazing story, just like SPOOL.
“Not just a lamp, but a lamp with a story.”
Design by TOLHUIJS
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