In order to offer products that are built to follow this particular principle, the challenge is in developing a network large enough to have a continuous supply chain and to be able to organize stock internally. The management of stock can become tedious and time-consuming, keeping you away from all the other stuff. As an alternative and addition to in-house Reuse management, I am happy to see the offer of suppliers getting more diverse lately, with the cooperative Batiterre helping to bridge and surpass the gap between deconstruction projects and artisans willing to reintroduce ‘waste’ into the production line.
Traditionally, cabinet making and woodworking in general manage waste and energy consumption quite well, but I know it can become secondary to a quick growth and a sense of better profits. It is true that if you don’t include the costs of environmental policies into the price of a chair that travelled more than I ever did in my life, just to arrive to its first user, you end up saving a lot as a company. As long as global companies benefit from this kind of tax exemption, local artisans will have to work within a skewed market. But solutions exist. Clients realize what they are paying for when you tell them. And great work is being done to use our local resources. Check Sonian Wood Coop if you don’t know about them already. They are a good proof of that.
Thanks to the network I mentioned and the work ethics I am nourishing with Investigations Géométriques, I tend to think the problems we currently have to face as a civilization are being addressed, such as our global energy consumption, the autonomy of local communities and the actualization of artisanal knowledge. The economy is indeed shifting towards a circular economy. I’m glad to be a part of it.
I am currently running a Growfunding campaign. It will help me get my workshop a wee bit more efficient so I can also devote more time to research. I love to read about vernacular furniture, for example, discovering the work of non-professional artisans who needed to make a functional piece with what they had around them. I also love to reintroduce this ingenuity into my work and hope to be able to share that with my clients. If you are curious about this campaign go to Growfunding.be, or find me on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube with the handle @investigationsgeometriques.
