Elle Decoration UK / The store to find gifts that won’t harm the planet
DESIGN / CREATORS & BRANDS
The store to find gifts that won’t harm the planet
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We speak to the founders of The Home of Sustainable Things
and reveal some of the shop’s delights.
Words by Clare Sartin | 13 December 2024
The store to find gifts that won’t harm the planet
______
We speak to the founders of The Home of Sustainable Things
and reveal some of the shop’s delights.
Words by Clare Sartin | 13 December 2024
From crumpled piles of discarded wrapping paper to gifts that are more stocking filler than killer, Christmas can be a wasteful time of year. That’s something HOST (The Home of Sustainable Things) hopes to change, with an approach that its founders, Petko Tashev and Desislava Vangelova, are dubbing ‘well-informed gifting’.
Partners in life and work, Tashev and Vangelova opened their store in Islington in 2018 but first met 23 years ago while working in the events industry, when they discovered a mutual passion for finding practical solutions to waste. Every item they sell is created by designers who share their dedication to circular design, whether using materials otherwise bound for landfill or those that will not clutter the Earth for long after being disposed of.
Having started with seven designers, they now represent more than 40. Highlights include work by Netherlands-based Studio Woojai, which forms sculptural furniture using discarded newspapers, Turkish studio Atelier Barb’s egg cups crafted from broken egg shells and ‘Reclaim’, a collection of pendant lights made using orange peel.
Egg cups made from egg shells
Designed by Atelier Barb, these breakfast essentials are
beautiful and biodegradable
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Not just a shop, HOST also acts as an ‘incubation studio’ for up-and-coming creatives with big ideas. ‘Many young designers reach out to us early in their product development and we actively participate in their process, offering our knowledge, market insights and, at times, connecting them to others within our network,’ say Tashev and Vangelova.
This year, they are particularly excited about the potential of their new collaboration with material researcher and ReCinder founder Rosy Napper, who creates beautiful plates using scrap from the ceramics industry. ‘It’s the lowest-carbon-footprint tableware on the market,’ they state.
ReCinder dinner plates
This pioneering range uses 100% fired scrap from the ceramic industry
Pre orders open now!
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The Alchemist's Console Table
Studio Woojai Eindhoven hand-crafted this piece of furniture using
wood pulp and waste newspapers
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This pioneering range uses 100% fired scrap from the ceramic industry
Pre orders open now!
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The Alchemist's Console Table
Studio Woojai Eindhoven hand-crafted this piece of furniture using
wood pulp and waste newspapers
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Step into their store and it’s clear that the duo hold themselves to their own uncompromising principles. ‘Every item on display and for sale is made from repurposed materials, as well as the product displays themselves, which have been created using event materials we have kept,’ says Tashev, adding that the packaging is also sustainable. ‘Circular design can’t afford to remain a niche market,’ he adds. ‘It’s exciting to see how much we can achieve by uniting for a common cause.
Elle Decoration Article can be found here https://www.elledecoration.co.uk/design/a63183125/home-of-sustainable-design/
Elle Decoration Article can be found here https://www.elledecoration.co.uk/design/a63183125/home-of-sustainable-design/