Elliott is a resourceful and super-creative industrial designer who explores the capability of designed artifacts and experiences to prompt behavioral change toward sustainable living. This Sunday he staged a sustainability-oriented performance piece at the south end of Union Square entitled The Microcycle Project. Originally created as part of
Solar One's mobile outreach project, "
I Heart PV," the project aims to compress the life cycle footprint of an artifact to just a few city blocks, and encourages participants to think about the waste materials in their local surroundings that could be reused.
Images of the Microcycle Project courtesy of Elliott Montgomery.
Elliott set up a solar powered manufacturing station, including four photo voltaic panels and four sewing machines, and with a team of trusty volunteers, converted scrap fabric from a nearby design house into shopping bags for use at local stores. Passersby were encouraged to consider the waste materials in their neighborhoods, and were offered a bag from the project in exchange for their knowledge of a viable waste stream. Each new waste stream was plotted on a map of New York, and will be posted online as an opensource database of materials for future MicroCycle setups. The MicroCycle map will be available at
epmid.com this summer. In the meantime, check out this video about the project, produced by Rick Wake.
MicroCycle Project - Union Square from
wake on
Vimeo.
So, what do the Microcycle Project and the Design Trust's
Reinventing Grand Army Plaza Exhibit have in common? If you guessed solar power, you're right (the exhibit cubes were lit at night by solar panels) -- but if you guess recycling old materials to make new bags, you're also right!
Reinventing Grand Army Plaza Exhibit photo courtesy of the Triborough Organization.
When Elliott told me about his project, I was reminded of two other crafty and resourceful individuals who have made a business out of recycling materials. In fact, thanks to the help of Brian Hawkins at
DCM Fabrication, the Design Trust's Reinventing Grand Army Plaza Exhibit became part of this recycling chain -- and now you can own a piece of the exhibit, in the form of a bag.
After the Reinventing Grand Army Plaza Exhibit closed last fall, Brian had the brilliant idea to donate the printed vinyl that was used to make the exhibit cubes to a couple of independent bag makers,
Fabric Horse and
R.E.Load for them to transform into functional pieces of art.
Carrie Collins founded Fabric Horse in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2003. It began while she was studying Industrial Design at the University of Cincinnati. Since then, FH has relocated to Philadelphia where it has grown into one of the city's most vibrant small businesses, hand sewing utility belts, fancy fannies, spats, bags, costumes and everything in between. I met Carrie recently at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, and I was amazed at the quality of her work. Every piece that Fabric Horse produces is made from scratch by Carrie and her business partner, Mary, in their Chinatown, Philadelphia studio.
When Carrie received the Reinventing Grand Army Plaza vinyl, she saw an opportunity not only to recycle this unique material, but also to provide assistance to another group of industrious ladies, in St. Thomas, Jamaica. Proceeds from the sale of these basket bags (they have a hard wooden bottom and don't slouch, perfect for use in your bicycle basket) go to support the
Johns Town Womens Craft Cooperative, where women work together to gather new skills, learn how to establish a viable business enterprise and create beautiful handcrafted items. Each bag is made to order, and quantities are limited to the amount of Reinventing Grand Army Plaza vinyl available --
order your's today!
Similarly (and also located in Philadelphia),
R.E.Load is a messenger bag company with an environmental conscience. Born in 1998 by two bike messengers on a mission to make more durable and sustainable messenger bags, R.E.Load uses recycled vinyl to make custom, hand made bags in multiple sizes. The messenger bags that R.E.Load created are durable and a great investment, not to mention a little piece of history. As each panel from the Reinveinting Grand Army Plaza Exhibit was unique, no two bags are the same.
Next time you see a piece of scrap material ready for the dumpster, think again. Log on to
epmid.com and add it to the materials map, or contact Carrie at
Fabric Horse or Ellie at
R.E.Load, and put that material to good use!
What do solar power, sewing machines, scraps materials and shopping have in common? If you had passed by Union Square this past Sunday, you would have found Elliott Montgomery, and you would know.
What do solar power, sewing machines, scraps materials and shopping have in common? If you had passed by Union Square this past Sunday, you would have found Elliott Montgomery, and you would know.
Images of the Microcycle Project courtesy of Elliott Montgomery.
Reinventing Grand Army Plaza Exhibit photo courtesy of the Triborough Organization.
When Elliott told me about his project, I was reminded of two other crafty and resourceful individuals who have made a business out of recycling materials. In fact, thanks to the help of Brian Hawkins at DCM Fabrication, the Design Trust's Reinventing Grand Army Plaza Exhibit became part of this recycling chain -- and now you can own a piece of the exhibit, in the form of a bag.