E T H O S
Quality of life is often measured in happiness. The pursuit of happiness is an inherent part of humanity, it transcends race, gender, culture and class. Our emotions are a direct result of the experiences we have, be it through travel, good food, friendships, comfortable living or gratifying work. Emotions are intangible and difficult to measure or assign a value to, yet we base quality of life on the level of happiness we have received from our experiences. So we must recognize the wealth of potential happiness that everyday products and rituals offer us in positive experiences over a lifetime.
The products that we interact with day-in & day-out are the ones which offer us the most opportunity to create happiness for ourselves as they accumulate the most hours of contact/use over a lifetime. Products like kettles, mugs, chairs, door handles and cutlery all fall into this category I call ‘functional commonplace everyday products’. You will use your front door handle on average 2+ times a day and when you do, you will feel one of 3 ways;
You will see your beautiful door handle and happily admire it and the way it effortlessly works as you whisk out the door.
You will not even notice your nondescript door handle as you whisk out the door.
You will hate your stupid door handle for not doing it’s one simple job as it jerks you out of your otherwise carefree morning routine because yet again it has jammed/caught on your clothes, hurt your hand as you have failed to whisk out the door.
If it equates to spending 6 weeks straight over your life time opening and shutting your front door, don’t you think it is worth the satisfaction that a well greased hinge can offer?
M I S S I O N
Arguably, functional commonplace everyday products (FCEP) are most deserving of a designers attention. My products will offer a re-education to show that no FCEP should be deemed too banal or unworthy of design input. And whatever seemingly small worth FCEP’s may appear to have in our daily lives, equates to a potential wealth of happiness and fulfillment over a lifetime.
The main ideology behind the design of my products relates to their greater context, to their integration into our lifestyle on a whole, highlighting the positives and encouraging healthy habits. My mission is to design products that connect us to our environment, create awareness of what we consume and inform empowering ideas through interaction, function and aesthetics, to encourage ongoing positive lifestyle choices.