Minimono’s plastic furniture promotes conscious consumption
The Minimono project is about sustainable furniture for the entire family guided by the principles of circular design
Kieron is a freelance writer and Digital Consultant who doesn't consider himself a design lover but a user of design - which to him is more than enough.
LinkedinCalled Minimono, the project uses non-toxic and 100% recyclable high-density polyethylene (HDPE) from secondary raw materials sourced from local suppliers. This in turn makes each piece unique as its colour depends on the recycling batch and the current HDPE waste.
Based in Berlin, design duo Julieta Benito Sanz and Dirk Lachmann want to create a better future for their two daughters. That’s why they have embarked on a family-run furniture business that recycles HDPE plastic sheets to create a range of pieces suitable throughout the home.
This waste source is then grounded into plastic pellets and melted down to form each piece. At present, Minimono offers two different styles of plastic, Confetti or Camouflage, both of which have a distinctive, speckled appearance.
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Together, Benito Sanz and Lachmann wanted to find a useful purpose for already existing streams of plastic production.
“Plastic is a revolutionary material with incredible properties and it is not only essential for many industries and full of advantages for everyday life,” says the circular design studio. “It is lightweight yet strong, water-resistant, shock-resistant, thermally insulating and easy to clean. We believe it is the exact opposite of rubbish and is entirely useful when used the right way.”
The collection is a versatile series that caters for multiple generations. A multi-purpose stool doubles as a child’s chair but also serves as a side table, a computer stand, or display unit.
It also includes two step-stools (one for adults and one for little ones), a desk that can be used as a children’s crafting table and a sloped back chair, which can be used both indoors and out.
Each piece is flat-pack, monomaterial and not a single screw is needed to assemble it, which makes it even easier to fully recycle all the elements at the end of the product’s life cycle. There’s no word of a return to producer scheme…yet.
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