PROJECT SCOPE
This is was a design project for a Critical Design intensive course at Emily Carr University of Art + Design over the study reading week (February 2017).
"This 5-day intensive workshop serves as a research and design laboratory for students from across Emily Carr to work on a single theme. The workshop explores design as a medium through which we can instigate critical discussion and debate while encouraging more active forms of intervention and agency."
Our group, comprised of (Delaney Lee, Devon Pianosi, Melissa Gehman, Li Zhang, Jaylen Fast and myself) We created a piece that was meant to spark discussion and question the hyper-sterilized world in which we live in, where hand sanitizer rules, kids aren't allowed to get dirty, yet allergies are at an all-time high and immune resistance at an all-time low..
Our Dust Bunny logo was designed by Jaylen Fast, and I transferred it onto card stock using the Chartpak Blender Marker.
What we trust in has evolved over time. Our trust began in nature and her tried-and-true remedies but has shifted towards a new, modified trust in an age of modernity and all the exciting technological prospects that came along with these developments. We as humans have lived symbiotically with nature since the beginning of time, forming a mutually beneficial relationship with our environment. However, more than ever, the emergence of advanced medical technology into our everyday lives has raised certain social and cultural conversations and has cultivated a fear of the unknown. While we are protecting ourselves from these unknowns, we may not be grasping the full implications of our choices in our hyper-sterilized environment. In a world where cleanliness is sensationalized, is getting dirty, as nature intended, no longer a respectable option? Is there room in this world for acceptance of technology and a development of immunity through natural resistance?
PROCESS + EXPLORATIONS
After some individual and group brainstorming, we decided there was a critical topic we could explore with our project, the idea of hyper-sterilization and reduced immunity to illnesses as a result of our germophobic, hand sanitizer culture. It's important to build-up immunity from birth to increase resistance and protect ourselves from allergies and illnesses, therefore we decided to design something targeted towards children and mothers who would be purchasing the product. During our ideation phase, we got stuck on nostalgias of Peter the Rabbit; a comforting and accessible children's story and toy.
This wasn't going to be just another stuffed toy. Our bunny was going to be filled with natural, organic material found in everyday environments and encounters. The things a mom would never let her child actually touch. Our toy would be filled with all these things and more, disguised in a soft and cuddly shell.
These were our initial prototypes. Once we decided on a toy rabbit as the vehicle for this critical design exploration. We found sewing patterns online and initially made a smaller model, using scrap material, and then scaled up and tested a softer, more child-friendly material. In the end, we decided on sticking with a more neutral, cotton muslin to maintain a gender-neutral, simple, hand-crafted and comforting toy that would appeal to trendy, environmentally conscious moms.
DUST BUNNY DETAILS + MATERIAL DESIGN
EAR
The rabbit's ear was one of the features I'm proudest of! I brew Jun Tea, a form of Kombucha and I have more of the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) used to make it than I know what to do with it. I was inspired by the use of SCOBY in textile and fashion design as an eco-friendly alternative in this wasteful industry and since it's all the rage amongst health-conscious moms I knew it had potential to be implemented as one of the natural materials for our project.
I separated a few layers of my large SCOBY, being careful to not rip the delicate material. I then proceeded to dehydrate all the separate layers until I achieved something that resembled leather and we layered and wrapped pieces of the SCOBY leather to shape and form a rabbit's ear. It produced a beautiful, textured and layered result that was soft to the touch, flexible and resembled real leather. Babies and young children have a tendency to chew on toys, and so we knew this feature would attract children.
TAIL
As we all know, rabbits have soft, bushy tails and since one of our collected materials was cat hair, we decided to make the rabbit's tail completely out of collected cat hair.
TAG
We came to a creative solution for the toy's soft tag. We were lucky to be able to find a blank silk clothing tag but to make it our own I suggested we dye it to give it a bit of a more weathered, vintage look. Thinking on the spot, we decided we could use Melissa's chai teabag to achieve a natural dyed effect. At first, we steeped the tea, and soaked the tag, with little success. We needed a more concentrated application. I proceeded to open up the tea bag and use the raw tea leaves to rub and stain the tag, which produced this beautiful water-colour like effect. After drying the tag, we again used the Chartpak Blender Marker to transfer 'laundry care' instructions and list the ingredients, which were sure to surprise and shock parents.
STUFFING
For the stuffing, each one of us contributed by searching for dirt/debris from around our homes, workplaces and the outdoors. The purpose of this product is to build up a child's immunity from a young age and so common allergens such as dust, animal hair, fungus and grains had to be included. We cleaned out our vacuum bags, we scoured greenspaces on Granville Island, I even collected some wheat and barley grains from the distillery where I worked at the time!
Ingredient list: dust, lint, cat hair, human hair, moss, wood chips, mushrooms, wheat and barley grains...etc.
I created a short little poem that I transferred onto a cardstock tag using a Chartpak Blender Marker. We decided on the transfer technique to maintain the hand-made, artisanal aesthetic for the final finished product. We saw this 'product' as potentially being sold on sites like Etsy, or boutique children's retailers.
"Germs are friends
Who are always by your side
Always there to play
Even if sometimes they hide
Get to know them by name
Touch, smell and see them,
You can even play a game
They'll teach you about nature
And will keep you out of danger."
