In recent years, repairing and upgrading electronics has largely given way to a trend of disposable gadgets which fill up landfills – especially with regard to home appliances like coffee makers and toasters. However, French designer Gaspard Tiné-Berès proposes to repair and re-use discarded and damaged appliances, with readily available reclaimed materials providing the necessary components, and the bodies constructed from cork.
The Short Circuit project grew out of the UK’s Islington City Council initiative Bright Sparks, which seeks to re-use unwanted electronics and sell them at a significant discount. So far, Tiné-Berès has created a coffee maker, toaster, and several kettles – all from discarded or damaged appliances, reclaimed materials, and natural cork.
“My coffee-maker, kettles and toaster are made out of re-used components, and factory seconds glassware such as wine bottle and chemistry beakers, in order to take advantage of its ubiquity, and standardized dimensions,” explained the designer.
In addition to offering consumers inexpensive and environmentally responsible products, Tiné-Berès also reckons that a business built around reusing and recycling electronics poses an opportunity to create new jobs and train workers with new skills, benefiting the local community, as well as the environment at large.
On this note, the designer has joined forces with Tristan Kopp in order to launch a new design studio named RE-DO Studio, which is dedicated to pursuing sustainable design. The pair are working closely with Bright Sparks, and aim to launch a collection later this year with some products available for purchase.
The video below sheds some more light on both the Bright Sparks and Short Circuit projects.
Sources: Gaspard Tiné-Berès, Tristan Kopp via EcoChunk
