Eco : brand creative is a South Australian design company founded by Andrew Parkinson, he is certainly passionate about his designs. I spoke to him at Bowerbird Bazaar as my son clambered over his constructions. In fact, the Bowerbird event itself relied heavily on their unique designs; tables, stools, lounges, the front desk and even the change rooms amongst other things came from the imagination of this South Australian design company.
Eco: brand creative is a design firm featuring a very exciting material; “Re-Board”, a completely recycled building material created from waste timber. This Swedish developed product is extremely versatile in its application; it is water-resistant, strong, durable and able to be printed on using a UV cured print process. Most importantly for Andrew it is environmentally friendly; sustainability, as well as performance and reliability are rapidly becoming a major consideration for designers. For public event furnishings the designs from eco: board creative really come to the fore front; they have the ability to be solid and durable, while at the same time are fully recyclable. The capacity of their designs to be easily shipped in flat pack form and assembled on site is also a great feature.
Eco: brand creative has developed a stylish a product line for children called eco: board kids. The “Klaus Fun House” is a flat packed cubby house that slots together. This cute design resembles a log cabin; with printed wooden slats covering the external surface. It evokes an outdoor rustic motif with the use of green grass along the base with silhouetted children playing beneath the branches of a tree. Overall it has a better look than the bulky plastic versions and has the ability to be completely recycled, so is planet friendly. On a different level, as a parent I prefer my children to play with materials that does not feature sickening primary and secondary colours in glossy plastic. This little house reminds me of the fridge boxes kids used to play in, although more stylish and durable, this design still taps into those comfortable ideals. The door to the house is rounded to enable easy access for little fingers. As it is constructed from light weight, yet strong cardboard, children are able to play safely with little chance of hurting themselves. The normal crush points of a cubby house are virtually non-existent. There are also plenty of windows for little eyes to spy on the world outside. The side of the roof may be lifted to provide adult access, should the need arise. The applications of this house are numerous; I could see the design feature in a variety of public places such as coffee shops and libraries, anywhere where children may wish to play and their parents might need a bit of a break.
The eco: board kids desk and chairs are an exciting development; again there are numerous applications for these products. Two types were featured; one, a brightly coloured alphabet styled activity table with chair, and the other a more simplistic desk and chair with a wood print, mirroring the cubby house. One might think that these constructions would be flimsy; on the contrary they are extremely solid. The parts slot together in an ingenious fashion providing stable seating for adults as well as children. While the tables may well have been designed for public events, I can see further applications such as in third world countries where furniture is expensive and difficult to ship.
Koush design and eco: brand creative are separate company’s yet have pooled their collective talents to create stylish public event furniture, such as this chair. Andrew was proud to lift the chair and show me the base which was folded and slotted together in such an ingenious manner as to provide great strength yet sport a very stylish look. Cushions can easily be added to provide a softer look and a burst of colour. The chairs have clean lines and simple construction. Good design should not be a complex affair.
Public event furniture of the past was often a sea of plastic; a sense of style can be achieved by utilising what we might perceive comfortable in our own homes. Eco brand creative have also developed a range of lounge chair style seating building on this idea.
The designs are based on Art Deco style club lounges. Colours can be altered to suit the client’s needs as well as accessories such as cushions. Again the ability to flat pack and assemble these creations on site is a great feature of these designs.
Above all these designs are fun! They interact with the space and create a homely feel. They also respond to a shift in people’s thinking toward a greener more environmentally friendly world.
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