ERICO GONDIM & BREAK STUDIO
MATERIAL EXPLORATIONS
Brazilian designer Erico Gondim focuses on social design, hoping to promote sustainable products in his home country. He is committed to the pursuit of transforming discarded materials into curious things and works with local designers and cooperatives.
Corrupio Novo
The collection featured in the Cluster Crafts online exhibition is an exploration into the value of upcyling and the concept of transforming waste material into something valuable and useful. Gondim collaborated with associations in Brazil collect recyclable materials from landfills. Through working with them and celebrating what they do, Gondim hopes that his design can spark positive social change.
Corrupio Novo
“I work to transform rubbish into something special by making new material from processing industrial and domestic waste plastics like bags and nets used in the packaging of fruits and vegetables,” says Gondim. “We called the new material Bye Plastic.”
Bye Plastic can be made with low-tech machinery and requires less energy to process than conventional plastics.
“It is based on a new consciousness; if we stop using virgin products and instead reuse, we can reduce the amount of material that pollutes the planet,” says Gondim. “It is part of a new, conscious cycle.”
The product line is called Corrupio after a toy with the same name that children in Brazil make with strings and bottle caps. Some of the pieces were designed in partnership with Studio Rato Roi, who also focuses on developing sustainable materials from plastic waste.
The Corrupio lamps are designed to be lightweight and easy to assemble. The patterns that appear on the surfaces recall the materials that have been salvaged to create them; flecks of coloured chord and translucent layers of plastic bags create beautiful motifs that both inspire and act as a poignant reminder of the impact throw-away culture is having on the environment.
Moonrise
“Porcelain has been prized for its delicate, luminescent quality for centuries but due to its temperamental nature it has rarely been used for lighting,” explains Davidson. “Break’s products feel both masculine and feminine, wild and refined, heavy and soft.”
California-based Break Studio also experiment with materials to create elegant lights. Founded by architect Lawrence Davidson, the studio takes pride in its experimental design philosophy and creative flexibility. The principal material used in the objects created by Break Studio is a thin porcelain that gives the pieces a particular luminous glow when the bulbs within them are on.
Break’s sculptural shades diffuse light with an ambient effect that is evocative of hygge-rich Nordic interiors. Materials like wool, copper, terrazzo and wood are juxtaposed with the porcelain to create warmth and tactility.
Break’s inaugural range of lighting – Moonrise Table Lamp, Half Moon Table Lamp, Flora Pendant, and Linea Alba Table Lamp – take inspiration from landscapes and linear forms in nature.
Moonrise Lamp was made in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the NASA’s Apollo 11 moon landing. Like all of Break’s design objects, the lamp is the result of a combination of handmade and digital-design processes that marry a deep love of craft and an interest in contemporary manufacturing capabilities. Each lamp has a one-of-a-kind presence but is also refined and polished beyond the skills of a traditional artisan.
Flora
Linea Alba Table Lamp
The Flora Pendant takes its form from the Fibonacci sequence and has eight petals that respond to this special numeric pattern.
“Our super-thin porcelain is soft to the touch and appears similar to milk glass, which, when illuminated creates a soft, ethereal effect,” says Davidson.
The work of Break Studio celebrates mischievous design, aiming to delight and inspire the viewers. You can view Break Studio’s exquisite porcelain lights on the Cluster Crafts platform and purchase them through our online store.
Thank you for reading,
Katie De Klee & Cluster Team.