Bringing life to design

 I previously documented my discovery of Hafsteinn Juliusson's 'slim chip' a simple, interesting and somewhat kitschy culinary idea which just made me inwardly giggle with childish glee and excitement.   The item I am about to document is perhaps more serious (?) but still simple, imaginative and conceptually beautiful. 

How much closer to nature could you get? Indeed, Juliusson has designed these pieces for the people of metropolitan cities as 'an experiment in drawing nature toward man, as nature being the presupposition of life'. The mossy jewellery brings to mind the innocent and natural play of a simple childhood,  playing in the dirt and on the grass making playthings out of sticks and leaves. The way children innocently wear daisy chain necklaces, leaf bracelets and use paperbark as powder-puff in a non-political way, is evoked here. The person and the plant live, work and play together  in harmony. 

The use of metal and moss together bring together the modern and the traditional, the man-made and the organic. I also love the way they are displayed, placed like little bridges on a pebbly surface. I wonder about the applications of this mini-innovation, how beautiful it could be to transfer other living details to our daily dress, blossoms on a collar, jasmine on neckline, its scent wafting up your neck throughout the day... I attempted to add plants into a one of my designs early on in my university degree  - but the idea was then dismissed as perhaps too kitschy  (that said, maybe I hadn't developed the garment shape well enough in the first place...) But it's definitely an idea I would love to further explore in the future.

While the knuckle duster does have violent connotations, I'd assume that the piece was designed this way a) to allow maximum growing space for moss and boost the impact or b) because Juliusson, like me, has a penchant for the absurd and the satirical. (I am looking forward to the day when someone designs a knuckle feather duster for the tough housewife/husband - ok ok, stupid chindogu idea -  but everyday needs a little bit of ridiculousness). 


Either way, its the perfect blend of the natural and the man-made, nature and culture, a beautiful reminder of the delicate balance of nature, and how it is our duty to live harmoniously with it and not take it for granted.