The Airbag nominated as product of the year - Icelandic Design Awards 2023
The Airbag by Flétta, Hrefna Sigurðardóttir and Birta Rós Brynjólfsdóttir for Fólk Reykjavík is nominated in the category product of the year at the Icelandic Design Awards 2023.
From the jury:
The Airbag is a new product designed by Studio Flétta for Fólk Reykjavík. The Airbag is an example of innovation where the product is designed with a circular economy in mind. Waste from an industry that was previously not available for sale or use is transformed into a strong, multi-use pillow. The pillows are 96% recycled and the only new ingredient is the rope and the handle.
Flétta goes virtually all the way with the recycling concept. The material can be separated once the product's lifetime is over, and the utilization of the material is maximized by keeping its changes to a minimum. Flétta was founded in 2018 by product designers Birta Rós Brynjólfsdóttir and Hrefna Sigurðardóttir, who have from the beginning focused on circular design in an uniquely creative way. The pillows were designed in collaboration with the design company FÓLK in 2020 for their product line, Circular Design, and made from used airbags in cars that would otherwise have gone to landfill. The Airbags are sourced from Netpartar, an environmentally certified car parts supplier and the fill is leftover fabric from 66° North. The sewing is by the Danish sewing house Huset Venture, a non-profit organization that provides work for people who run into obstacles in conventional work environments.
Airbag is a good example of new ways of thinking in design, which are now taking over and offering endless opportunities.
About
Birta Rós Brynjólfsdóttir graduated from Iceland University of the Arts with a B.A. in Product design in 2016 and is now finishing her master degree in contemporary design in AAlto University in Helsinki.
Hrefna Sigurðardóttir graduated from the University of Iceland with a B.S. in industrial engineering in 2013 and with a B.A. in product design from Iceland University of the Arts in 2017. Previously she studied ceramics at Reykjavík School of Visual Arts.
Studio Flétta was founded in 2018. Flétta focuses on recycling raw materials with handmade and high quality products. Flétta’s work has been covered in a number of design media and magazines such as Dezeen, Frame, Icon, Bobedre, Monocle, ElleDecor, Vogue Business and Design Wanted.
Icelandic Design Awards will take place in Gróska on November 9th - save the date! We have now finished announcing all the 9 nominations for the Icelandic Awards 2023. Check out all the nominations in the three categories here.
The Icelandic Design Award honours the best Icelandic design and architecture. The importance of design in our society, culture and business has been growing steadily, and it is therefore vital to increase the understanding of good design and highlight the value of quality.
The Icelandic Design Award will be awarded for the tenth time this year (2023), and to mark the occasion, the award categories have been increased to three: Product // Place // Project. In addition, the Icelandic Design Awards also include honorary award and recognition for the best investment in design.
The Icelandic Design Award is established by Iceland Design and Architecture in collaboration with the Iceland Academy of the Arts and the Museum of Design and Applied Art and with support from Business Iceland and SI - the Federation of Icelandic Industries.
