NEW YORK, September 1, 2005 (originally issued June 30, 2005) – Students from Parsons The New School for Design have created concepts for new glassware and dinnerware collections for the Sierra Club, inspired by the organization’s mission of preserving and protecting the environment. The project was developed through the Parsons Design Lab, a center at the school that facilitates interdisciplinary projects with corporations and nonprofit organizations to develop design solutions for real-world business challenges.
“The Sierra Club project is an ideal example of the professional experience that the Parsons Design Lab provides to our students,” said Carol Moore, Director of the Parsons Design Lab. “From researching brand identities to presenting design concepts to senior executives, students learn the full range of issues involved in designing in the commercial – and nonprofit – realm.” In addition to the Sierra Club, recent Design Lab partners have included Siemens, Fossil, Daimler Chrysler, Microsoft, and Samsung.
Founded in 1892, Sierra Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring, enjoying and protecting the planet. The organization’s mission to preserve U.S. wilderness, wildlife and natural landmarks – Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, the Florida Everglades and the Sequoia National Monument to name just a few – has helped protect over 150 million acres of wilderness and wildlife habitat. Currently, the Sierra Club is licensing various product lines, yet the Parsons collaboration is the organization’s first foray into home design.
“We wanted a fresh new design approach for tableware; one that would convey the spirit of the Sierra Club brand,” said Johanna O’Kelley, Director of the Sierra Club’s licensing program. “In that spirit, we embarked on a glassware and dinnerware collection that would allow consumers to integrate environmental protection into their everyday lives. Realizing the talent and fresh perspective that students can provide, we chose to work with Parsons to develop the collection and the results are outstanding. We have been extremely impressed by the innovative spirit and design caliber of the students at Parsons.”
The project was developed by two teams of undergraduate students in the communication design, design and management and product design departments at Parsons. Each team designed two glassware and two dinnerware collection concepts. The “Embrace” dinnerware and glassware collection, and the “Roots” dinnerware and “Cheers” glassware collections, by the team of Lindsey Clark, Jennifer Divello, Hideaki Matsui and Laura Schalchli, create a dialogue between the manmade and natural worlds through form, patterns and textures.
The team of Racha Bahsoun and Kimberly Price designed glassware and dinnerware collections that draw upon the themes of nature and sustainability. The “Flip Me” glassware collection is a set of stackable, two-in-one glasses that are a simple and space efficient alternative to ordinary glassware. The “Family” glassware collection is a set of nesting glasses – wine, cocktail and water glasses that share similar contours that create a sense of unity when they are placed together in an elegant embrace. The “Growth” dinnerware collection is inspired by one of the tenets of the Sierra Club mission – growth and progress. This is expressed through abstract geometric shapes that come together to form an organic pattern. The “Heritage” dinnerware collection draws from another central element of the Sierra Club mission – recycling. Here traditional English-style china patterns are deconstructed and recomposed using modern design language.
The Sierra Club is now exploring partnerships with manufacturers to produce and sell these glassware and dinnerware collections. All companies licensed to manufacture and distribute Sierra Club products go through a rigorous screening process before they are approved by the Sierra Club’s Corporate Relations Committee and the Board of Directors.
The Sierra Club project was led by Parsons faculty member Stefanie Kubanek, a product designer who has worked on a variety of projects with internationally recognized design firms including Pentagram Design and FM Design in London and Olive 1:1 in New York. The glassware prototypes were created under the guidance of Bennett Jordan and Gillian Puryear, artists affiliated with Urban Glass, a not-for-profit international center for the creation and appreciation of new art made from glass based in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. For more information visit www.urbanglass.org.
The Sierra Club’s members are 750,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, they work together to protect communities and the planet. Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is America’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. For more information visit www.sierraclub.org.
Located in the heart of New York City, Parsons The New School for Design is one of the largest degree-granting colleges of art and design in the nation, with more than 5,500 students from all 50 states and approximately 60 countries. The School’s Dean is Paul Goldberger, the Pulitzer-prize winning design critic and writer. Parsons has been a forerunner in the field of art and design since its founding in 1896. By locating visual beauty in the ordinary things of middle-class American life, Parsons virtually invented the modern concept of design in America. Internationalism has always been an essential ingredient of Parsons' success. Parsons’s rigorous programs and distinguished faculty embrace curricular innovation, pioneer new uses of technology, and instill in students a global perspective in design. For more information, visit www.parsons.newschool.edu.