We’ve heard of environmentally conscious Israeli designers doing some pretty crazy stuff with paper. Green Lullaby makes EcoCradles out of cardboard paper, Amit Brilliant turns used paper wrappers into wallets, and Erez Mulai transforms wasted paper into wastepaper baskets.
While we think these designers are great and love their work, none of them has reinvented existing paper materials using a traditional art or design method. Which is something self-taught Israeli designer Guy Lougashi knows a little about.
The baskets that he and his workers weave by hand at a Jewish-Arab factory in Baqa Al Garabia are created by using traditional basket weaving techniques, but with a twist.
They weave together paper instead of straw.
But that’s not all they do. The factory, which is part of the Shekulo Tov initiative (like repurposed fabric designer Zohar Yarom and wastepaper basket creator Erez Mulai), weaves together wasted materials as it weaves together differing populations.
The baskets are each one of a kind since they’re entirely handmade (and thus have a low carbon footprint), and each basket has a slightly different size and shape.
To ensure the durability of the baskets, Lougashi dips the strips of paper in glue before weaving them and after the glue has dried he coats them with a lacquer to strengthen them even more.
Read more to find out about studios and workshops where you can reuse your garbage
Reuse It or Lose It: Black, White, and Read All Over
One Industry’s Junk Is a Child’s Treasure: Recycling Workshops at the Israel Museum
Hiria: A Garbage Dump Turned Recycling Dream
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
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