Luxury of the North
The Canadian North is simultaneously characterized by scarcity and abundance. Its extreme qualities—extreme coldness, remoteness, lightness, darkness, feasts and famines—shape people’s living practices and ways of using resources. In partnership with University of Alberta, Luxury of the North by Droog with Cynthia Hathaway, Winy Maas (MVRDV, The Why Factory) with Pirjo Haikola (The Why Factory) and Christien Meindertsma explores how qualities of the Canadian North can inspire new urban luxuries and future city concepts.
Wild Bone China
by Christien Meindertsma
The Wild Bone China project is the second commission made by Meindertsma in response to a brief from Droog Design to reflect on the landscape of northern Canada. Traditional bone china commonly uses animal bone from the meat industry. Meindertsma took inspiration from the bones of wild animals she had found in the landscape and instead used bone found in a nature reserve in the Netherlands to make this porcelain collection.
The resourcefulness of the local communities in north Canada, how they waste nothing and find ingenious ways to use the raw materials around them, was at the forefront of Meindertsma’s mind. The bones of animals that have been hunted or died naturally are the last remains after everything else has been expertly used. Meindertsma’s experiment in using the leftovers from nature saw her turn the bones of a wild boar, deer and badger into bone ash (making up 60% of the compound) and subsequent collection of porcelain vessels and objects. Wild Bone China is in the collection of the Centraal Museum Utrecht as a part of their Droog Design collection.
Wild tea herbarium
by Christien Meindertsma
Often people who do not live in nature are either very protective
of it, or don’t care about it at all. Seeking a new way to harvest the
land within an ecosystem, Christien Meindertsma created a Wild tea herbarium made
from plants picked at a nature reserve in the
Netherlands.
Dates & info
XXL City
by Cynthia Hathaway Discussion and tasting of giant foods with Renny Ramakers (Droog), Cynthia Hathaway, Mark Gorgolewski, Tim Antoniuk (University of Alberta), Agata Jaworska (Droog) and Misha Glouberman (moderator). Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 7:00 – 9:00pm Gladstone Hotel 1214 Queen Street West, Toronto
Luxury of the North lectures and panel debate
featuring: Here, there, everywhere by Agata Jaworska (Droog) Arctic Imports by Pirjo Haikola (The Why Factory) Productivity of Nature by Christien Meindertsma and Tim Antoniuk (University of Alberta). Thursday, December 8th, 2011 Lectures & debate: 7:00 – 9:00pm, Telus Centre, Edmonton
Project team
Director: Renny Ramakers (Droog) Partner: Tim Antoniuk (University of Alberta) Media partner: AZURE Design team: Cynthia Hathaway, Christien Meindertsma (Flocks), Winy Maas (MVRDV, The Why Factory) with Pirjo Haikola (The Why Factory), Mick van Gemert (MVRDV, The Why Factory) and Ania Molenda (The Why Factory), Stuart Sproule (Red Flag Design) Illustration XXL City: Max Klaentschi with Rachel Harding (Droog) XXL chef: Marc Breton (Gladstone Hotel) Consultants: Ole Bouman (Netherlands Architecture Institute), Ed van Hinte Content & project manager: Agata Jaworska (Droog) Droog interns: Andrew Brash, Daniela Dossi, Jorge Mañes, Tom Merrell, Katrin Murbach, Simon Phillipson, Libby Scarlett Supported by: Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, City of Amsterdam, Canada Goose, Gladstone Hotel Special thanks to growers Luke and Christina Melnyk, John Vincent and Brad Wursten, and Dave Reid (Polar Sea Adventures)
Droog Lab: Here, there, everywhere Initiated by Renny Ramakers (co-founder and director of Droog), ‘Here, there, everywhere’ offers a new vision on the future of design. In collaboration with designers, consulting experts and local partners, Droog speculates how people in daily situations worldwide can inspire new directions for design. Current and past project locations include Dubai, New York, the Canadian North, Moscow, Belgium and Mumbai. The design outcomes with accompanying essays and interviews will be published in a book in 2012. The initiative is funded by Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, City of Amsterdam and local partners.
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