THE END / LA FINE - fabrica

This is a lead up To The ghosT of conversaTion. sam Baron, head of faBrica’s
design deparTmenT, spoke wiTh me aBouT The upcoming line of oBjecTs Based on The
idea of “The end.” posiTively, These are The very Bones and flesh of sam’s words,
recreaTed. Be warned; The Things sam said were noT in This exacT order. a few of
requiem per un oggeTTo.
TexT By maTThew prins
Sam Baron, deSigner / France
what is the underlying concept of this project? the concept is to
use an object that belonged to our generation. we take a boom box,
or the phone 01 (the one that is rotary), the atari computer, the first
mobile phone, the first motorola which is almost like a walky-talky...
whatever. we recreate one of these objects as a ceramic and then
it becomes a candy box or a breadbox or whatever.
i think it’s nice, the idea that these objects belonged to our generation,
you know? not taking antique things but rather taking something
that was a part of our last twenty years. not to be so historical,
but to play with people’s short term memory. taking what was
made yesterday which may not exist anymore tomorrow. it’s
like signalling the end of something. it’s done. it’s finished. it’s
a tombstone for it.
so what’s the purpose of creating another use for these objects
as mementos? One could just make a decorative object. so you take
one thing, make it in ceramic and it’s done. For me, that doesn’t make
sense; you are still putting another object in the house, and if it’s not
useful then it’s worse than anything, unless it is an art piece. but we
are in design, so we are not producing art. the idea is, more so, to
give it a simple function, or an old fashioned function, in the very
free way that a candy box could be used for many things. it could
be a soup bowl or an... it’s a container. it’s not just for candy, that’s
just a kitschy name.
why ceramic? because ceramic is so fragile, this will completely
change the way people are going to handle the object, opposed to
a daily plastic version. and using ceramic, its visual impact gives
it like a completely new life. it’s, for example, that ceramic has this
kind of luxury aspect. in the past, when a queen was about to die,
they made a bust of her in ceramic because it provided her with
a kind of immortality in life. the idea is to do the same with objects
that aren’t being produced anymore.
For example: the boom box radio. we are now using mp3 or ipods.
the kinds of objects that were a part of our generation are now
antiquities, you know? in a really short time. in this way, the project
also pays homage to the constant production of today. it’s a way
to present a consciousness about the evolution of consumerism.
as an answer, we are to make these limited editions, maybe 25
pieces of each. it’s also a possibility, the idea of producing one
object per weekday.
why that decision? because it’s like having a... proposing a daily
reflection. For me, i’m frustrated. the designer should help or
propose that people observe a bit, how we produce, how we
consume, because the market is so full of products, and crap and
shit. i think it’s a good idea to have a break, to take time to watch
and think about the way we as people buy and buy and buy. this
is a way to propose interaction between the producer and consumer
and designer. to say, “why can’t we stop, why can’t we change, why
can’t we watch?” it’s like people buy objects as they buy food, you
know, you eat it then you buy something else.
this is important. when you put an object on the market, you know,
it isn’t a joke. You are not just designing a piece because it is good
for your ego. so, if the product that comes out of Fabrica can make
a bit of sense and propose a certain point of view, if we can give
another value to a product, which is not just making money with
producing, it has to be a good thing.
did you approach this, um, the end, in a positive or negative light?
For me it’s positive because something new is coming. in the
design department that makes complete sense. there are lots
of tables, lots of lovely sofas, lots of da da da da da... so, maybe
there is a table, but someone comes out with just a colour
modification. For me it’s a big shame. You have to look at all the
shit and all the masterpieces, and do something more from there.
the end is to be used as a reference point. because design is
a kind of new profession, every designer, in a way, is more into
producing. it’s a career where you have to create something
and you have to do it quickly. sometimes we don’t take time
to stop and say, “Okay. what am i doing now? how is the
market moving?”
do you think the design process should take a long time? no.