CRAFTING, CLEANING & CARING

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For one week twelve young designers were working on the Crafting, Cleaning and Caring theme, together with different craftspeople from the Bregenzerwald region and members of the Werkraum Bregenzerwald association in the Werkraumhaus in Andelsbuch. The workshop was led by Rianne Makkink and was based on the project Cleanliness is next to Godliness by Studio Makkink & Bey, which consists of a product range decorated with five domestic scenes that celebrate the value of housework.
As an act of practice-based research and reflection of one’s own practice the designers started each day with a cleaning ritual to foster special attention to gestures and tools used in the process. Through gathering samples, filming evidence and collecting materials related to the act of cleaning found in the region and the work environments of the craftspeople involved in the project, they developed a design concept revolving around the act of cleaning. The outcome of Crafting, Cleaning and Caring are five research-based products and interventions as products, which re-think the process and design within the capacities of the different regional craftspeople, their practice and production processes at their companies at hand. The results of this collaborative approach are presented in wooden crates, a display methodology developed by Studio Makkink & Bey. This form of presentation allows for easy transport and at the same time supports the act of exhibiting the work in a simple and effortless way within the context of a traveling exhibition such as MADE IN. The form of the crate increases the awareness of the content displayed, and in regards to the project on hand enhances the perception of the act of cleaning.