Dutch Design Fashion Architecture
maart 18, 2009
Don't end it, mend it! As several countries already know, but Dutch people as part of Western society tend to forget, repairing is not anti-consumption. It is anti-needlessly throwing things away. As a start of to what hopefully becomes a reappraisal of repair, especially in Western countries, Platform21 has written a manifesto describing some of the qualities repair offers. It is a way of thinking, a culture in itself almost, designed to cater to short term needs of both industry, politics and society.
Repairing connects ordinairy people (provided they have a hole in their socks or a chair with broken leg) to artists. In a 5 month program they work together in repairing objects or even relations. Next to the repair studio you can view repaired items. Heleen Klopper mends holes in sweaters using wool plaster, Yuri Suzuki calms a crying baby with white noise from a hair blower. The Smash/Repair project from Guy Keulemans and Martijn Dijkhuizen shows the bare repair: what is left from a repaired stool after taking the original stool away? They see repairing as an act of love. Rachel Griffin:"If an object is made from the material that is used for a repair, it will in fact never been repaired." Her duct tape glasses remain intact forever.
Download the Repair Manifesto here
REPAIR MANIFESTO
1. Make your products live longer!
Repairing means taking the opportunity to give your product a second life. Don’t ditch it, stitch it! Don’t end it, mend it! Repairing is not anti-consumption. It is anti- needlessly throwing things away.
2. Things should be designed so that they can be repaired.
Product designers: Make your products repairable. Share clear, understandable information about DIY repairs. Consumers: Buy things you know can be repaired, or else find out why they don’t exist. Be critical and inquisitive.
3. Repair is not replacement.
Replacement is throwing away the broken bit. This is NOT the kind of repair that we’re talking about.
4. What doesn’t kill it makes it stronger.
Every time we repair something, we add to its potential, its history, its soul and its inherent beauty.
5. Repairing is a creative challenge.
Making repairs is good for the imagination. Using new techniques, tools and materials ushers in possibility rather than dead ends.
6. Repair survives fashion.
Repair is not about styling or trends. There are no due-dates for repairable items.
7. To repair is to discover.
As you fix objects, you’ll learn amazing things about how they actually work. Or don’t work.
8. Repair – even in good times!
If you think this manifesto has to do with the recession, forget it. This isn’t about money, it’s about a mentality.
9. Repaired things are unique.
Even fakes become originals when you repair them.
10. Repairing is about independence.
Don’t be a slave to technology – be its master. If it’s broken, fix it and make it better. And if you’re a master, empower others.
11. You can repair anything, even a plastic bag.
But we’d recommend getting a bag that will last longer, and then repairing it if necessary.
Repairing connects ordinairy people (provided they have a hole in their socks or a chair with broken leg) to artists. In a 5 month program they work together in repairing objects or even relations. Next to the repair studio you can view repaired items. Heleen Klopper mends holes in sweaters using wool plaster, Yuri Suzuki calms a crying baby with white noise from a hair blower. The Smash/Repair project from Guy Keulemans and Martijn Dijkhuizen shows the bare repair: what is left from a repaired stool after taking the original stool away? They see repairing as an act of love. Rachel Griffin:"If an object is made from the material that is used for a repair, it will in fact never been repaired." Her duct tape glasses remain intact forever.
Download the Repair Manifesto here
REPAIR MANIFESTO
1. Make your products live longer!
Repairing means taking the opportunity to give your product a second life. Don’t ditch it, stitch it! Don’t end it, mend it! Repairing is not anti-consumption. It is anti- needlessly throwing things away.
2. Things should be designed so that they can be repaired.
Product designers: Make your products repairable. Share clear, understandable information about DIY repairs. Consumers: Buy things you know can be repaired, or else find out why they don’t exist. Be critical and inquisitive.
3. Repair is not replacement.
Replacement is throwing away the broken bit. This is NOT the kind of repair that we’re talking about.
4. What doesn’t kill it makes it stronger.
Every time we repair something, we add to its potential, its history, its soul and its inherent beauty.
5. Repairing is a creative challenge.
Making repairs is good for the imagination. Using new techniques, tools and materials ushers in possibility rather than dead ends.
6. Repair survives fashion.
Repair is not about styling or trends. There are no due-dates for repairable items.
7. To repair is to discover.
As you fix objects, you’ll learn amazing things about how they actually work. Or don’t work.
8. Repair – even in good times!
If you think this manifesto has to do with the recession, forget it. This isn’t about money, it’s about a mentality.
9. Repaired things are unique.
Even fakes become originals when you repair them.
10. Repairing is about independence.
Don’t be a slave to technology – be its master. If it’s broken, fix it and make it better. And if you’re a master, empower others.
11. You can repair anything, even a plastic bag.
But we’d recommend getting a bag that will last longer, and then repairing it if necessary.
