Text & Image: Anke Buchmann
CREATING VALUE WHERE OTHERS CREATE WASTE
During the London Design Festival 2015 I discovered Ariane Prin‘s freshly launched hand-made homeware collection RUST, and I was immediately fascinated by its appeal and the surprising smooth haptic of the rusty vessels.
Magazins such as Wallpaper, ELLE Décoration, Dezeen, Design Boom or CASA Vogue have published her RUST range and by now it is being sold across the world. Before that, her work has been exhibited, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Mint Gallery, Herrick Gallery and Heal’s in London, Cité de la Mode et du Design and S. Bensimon Gallery in Paris.
”THE ROYAL COLLEGE HELPED ME FIND THE WORDS TO MY IDEAS.“
While studying at the Royal College of Art the french-born product designer found her very personal leitmotif, the narrative that connects all her projects since - transforming other peoples left overs and waste into precious raw materials. Looking closely when others look away has allowed her to not only detect a design process lead by experimentation and discovery but it also let her make deep connections to a wide range of professionals, such as the locksmiths. Happy to exchange one thing for another, Ariane enjoys sharing her work with the people who allow its production through their left over materials.
In the heart of Hackney Wick, London‘s old warehousing and industrial zone, in a hidden upper floor studio, Ariane Prin creates her extraordinary RUST collection. Walking up to her workshop, I keep thinking, it must feel to her like ‘Schlaraffenland’ (german for „land of milk and honey“) working in an area surrounded by industrial materials and objects left behind on the streets. But she stays strong these days, focussing on metal dust from key cutting for her rusty range of cachepots, trays, vases, bowls and boxes. ‘There is so much more to discover’, Ariane tells claystudies***, and as long as the metal dust keeps surprising her, she will continue exploring this exceptional substance.
”THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ORDINARY DAY.“
Every piece takes about two exciting days to produce, pouring metal dust mixed with gypsum based materials into her one-off moulds, adding another extra four months for the metal particles to oxidise. Every product shows a unique texture, varying in colour and intensity. For Ariane it is all about catching the perfect moment, when the oxidation reached its most interesting state. That is the moment, when she stops the oxidation process by applying high quality vanish.
”IN THE FUTURE I WOULD LOVE TO BE INVITED BY A COMPANY, THAT LET‘S ME EXPERIMENT WITH THEIR WASTE MATERIALS.“
Ariane is full of ideas and enthusiasm for her sustainable approach. She hopes to inspire others and make them think twice before throwing stuff away. There is a lot of value out there, waiting to be discovered. In a perfect world, Ariane dreams of an opportunity to expand her idea and collaborate with a bigger company on creating design objects out of forgotten leftovers.
I wish Ariane all the best and I am excited to see the RUST range grow even bigger in the future. Thank you for this wonderful insight into your work.
Learn more about her lovely process on: http://www.prin.in
