The term “sustainability” has been used excessively and often without concept over the last few years. As a result, the essence of the word slowly faded into obscurity. With my diploma thesis I tried and developed generic alternative products to new productions, on the basis of an own sophisticated definition of sustainability.
These alternatives are based on the principle of recycling, which allows us to spare a new product by giving old products a longer, or a second life. But instead of using highly energy consuming industrial recycling methods, I rather wanted to achieve accretion by using refined manual labour in order to create a so-called “upcycling” process.
Based on thorough design research, I developed a collection of articles of daily use which consist of thrown away objects. These were repaired, upgraded or transformed with the help of local craftsmen – all situated in southern Germany – who contributed to a truly sustainable recycling process.

This concept is an attempt to demonstrate a new artistic way towards an alternative, social product and productivity thinking, and at the same time it is a tribute to increasingly forgotten local craft traditions.

Pictures: Susanne Feld / Diplomausstellung April 2013