MEWE — A Studio, a Platform and a Belief
How can China adopt a British-inspired model of sustainability to promote furniture recycling?
Story of MEWE: MEWE is a poem made of two of the shortest English words spoken by Muhammad Ali, when he was invited to give a graduation speech at Harvard University. He intended to overcome the gap between different races, religions and classes through his poem. I introduce this poem as my project title, want to beyond his meaning and expand it to overcome the gaps between west and east, among abandoned furniture, environment issues and human being ourselves.
ME WE
E=East W=West
ME = I WE= I + abandoned Furniture
ME = I WE= I + abandoned Furniture + Environment
ME = I WE= I + abandoned Furniture + Environment + U
I gave myself a question “How can China adopt a British inspired model of sustainability to promote furniture recycling?” So I intend to collect and share resources and networking of furniture design; create a studio to set up this platform between the British and Chinese furniture industry to achieve win-win through academic communication and business cooperation for promoting a sustainable lifestyle.
This idea is mainly inspired by the current environmental issues, particularly the huge amount of abandoned furniture and sustainable materials thrown away in China every year, much of which could be re-used easily. During my research and experience of working with Out of the Dark and Freegle, I found that British recycling system can be a model that can be introduced to China to educate designers, manufactures and customers about awareness of sustainability. Moreover, MEWE can also explore and extend into a potential market in China.
Academic Communication
I am Launching a talk and short term workshop in Central Academy of Fine Art (CAFA)which is one of the most outstanding Art and Design University in China. This also invites British designers to share their experiences and introduce brilliant works on sustainable concept with students, professors and designers in Beijing. I received support from CAFA and responses from designer Paulo Goldstein and British Studio Hendzel+Hunt; currently we are working together on the further plans to make it happen in Beijing next year.
Business Testing
MEWE contacted Out of the Dark, a charitable social enterprise that recycles, restores and revamps pieces to create uniquely designed furniture. I got involved in them as a furniture designer to design and make pieces of furniture which will be made up of different elements of unwanted retro vintage furniture. During the process of working with them, I got to know how they worked, who they worked for and what their difficulties were. Currently, we are developing some coat hangers and lamps for extending the Japanese and Chinese markets. We are working on producing prototypes planned to be finished on the 24th of November. If everything goes well the products will be tested for online selling on their website. We already have potential customers from Japan.
MEWE also contacted a furniture manufacture in China, called Dalian Bomit Furniture Co., Ltd., which have a showroom in Dalian. They are interested in my project and would like a sample to show and sell in their showroom. Bomit also plans to set up an apartment to investigate how can develop products with sustainable materials. Base on result of selling test, we will discuss further work together. Also, I am working on contacting popular public online retail websites in China such as Taobao and Tianmao, to try to sell the coat hangers and lamps via their sites.
My further aim to deliver a Belief of MEWE, which also can go beyond different cultures.
Firstly, ME stands for people, WE symbolizes people and furniture, and ME & WE means the reflection, as in a mirror, furniture reflects what you look like, your taste and personality, culture background and records your experience and memories. The value of keeping furniture as long as people can is because they are parts of history of a family which gives desire to inherit.”Can be appropriated for reasons, such as for the pursuit of distinctiveness, uniqueness and individuality”. “This clearly carries through into motivations for purchase of antiques, where the signs of previous ownership and use can become part of what is valued.”
Secondly, WE can understand ME as a part of Environment (as a whole system), MEWE shows integration, which we should be concerned about, because we are part of the environment, we are all in the same boat.
Thirdly, ME stands for one people holds this belief, WE symbolize others’ engagement with this faith, MEWE shows the transformation, how to delivery this belief to more people and encourage them to involve into the whole system which benefit to the environment and human beings ourselves.
