Use case for upcycled products and community engagement
Wire Up is a socially conscious jewelry line that aims to transform discarded materials into unique, handcrafted pieces of jewelry. Creating community engagement opportunities by hosting interactive workshops that empower individuals to embrace their creativity while contributing to a greener future.
Secondary research, surveys, field research, protyping, experimentation, workshop building and facilitation, community engagement
June - October 2022
The Problem
Throw Away Society
More, Newer, Better
After World War II, consumer spending no longer meant just satisfying an indulgent material desire. In fact, the American consumer was praised as a patriotic citizen in the 1950s, contributing to the ultimate success of the American way of life.
“The good purchaser devoted to ‘more, newer and better’ was the good citizen,” historian Lizabeth Cohen explained, “since economic recovery after a decade and a half of depression and war depended on a dynamic mass consumption economy.”
Source: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tupperware-consumer/
The Opportunity
Upcycling and Circular Economy
As cited above from the Environmental Impacts of Fast Furniture by Asleigh Maier, in order to fix the linear cycle, we need to create a linear system. When we look at the graph of circular economy we realize that upcycling could play a big role in giving products a second life.
Personal Story
Bunny induced jewelry making
As a designer, I've always been interested in creating unique art pieces and I've always wanted to get into jewelry making. However, the traditional methods of making jewelry is either sourcing supplies from unethical/cheap places, or expensive but long-lasting materials. As a student at the time, I did not have to resources to invest in such supplies, yet I also did not want to use these "cheap" materials either.
This got me tinkering with the christmas lights and other cables I had at home that my bunny chewed on and broke, that I was keeping around because I did not want to throw it away.
First round of experiments
Learnings
Used cable as string, it was doable but not the best feeling on neck.
Ring forming success, it is possible to hold wrapped wire with a piece of wrapped wire.
The lightbulb is relatively easy to dissamble without breaking the parts. Created pendants through using the existing metal and adding a jump ring.
Gathering materials at the local recycling hub
This was when I realized the obvious connection between existing supplies for jewelry and the colorful cables I was collecting.
Material Similarity
Second Approach
After seeing the vast amount of wires at the recycling hub, I wanted to come up with a more replicable and easy to process method for turning wires into jewelry.
This led me to experiment and come up with creating beads from various cables, this procedure is applicable to most cables.
Cutting Beads
Bead Earrings & Ring Development
Learnings
Creating beads from wires is a reliable method of fast production.
Experimentation lead to some interesting concepts, having more materials leads to better results.
The rings are also a solid concept, needs small tweeks in order to make sure it's long lasting.
Market/Trend Research
At this point, I wanted do some market/trend research to establish a certain style to work towards. Through my
“Overall, there is a new playfulness to accessorizing and self-expression through jewelry, so in addition to bold pieces, customers are making their own trends and choosing what feels most personal to them”
The Development
Third Round
With this established aesthetic, I started variating the colors and creating stronger pieces.
Workshops
This is when I started working with the Remake Project and we hosted workshops with various local non-profit organizations.
With these workshops, we were aiming to show people the possiblities even from wires as well as teaching them how to make jewelry and foster creativity.
Iset Celik
isetcelik@gmail.com