Isabel is an interdisciplinary designer/maker running a research-based studio focused on sustainability. Avendaño-Hazbún is interested in how things are made and the stuff that things are made of. Through self-initiated projects Avendaño-Hazbún investigates materials and their properties and applies sustainable processes in the design and manufacture of rigorously made conceptual collections that have a cohesive visual language.
Mainly working with excess and the discarded with the intention to repurpose and considering the entire ecological impact of the object, Avendaño-Hazbún’s work aims to use design to revise out-dated manufacturing models making sustainability the true measure of an objects’ worth.
Avendaño-Hazbún has developed a new upholstery material, made from discarded rubber bicycle tyres sourced from local bike shops that would otherwise end up in landfills. Working out of her home studio in Melbourne, Avendaño-Hazbún uses analogue tools and machines of her own invention to break the rubber tyres down into long threads, handwoven into a pliable and durable rope. Building on her chair design originally exhibited at Craft in the exhibition The Chair (2022), she upholsters the chair, weaving the rope through the timber frame. The work will be shown at Craft as part of Future Ambition.
This material is incredibly versatile and has endless applications. It is not only aesthetically pleasing when manipulated thoughtfully but also practical applications for manufacturing processes.
/ Isabel Avendaño-Hazbún