Designers often draw inspiration for their creations from elements found in nature. One of them is water. Designs with curved forms, organic volumes and fluidity are some characteristics that can be found in design throughout the ages. Apart from the non-material aspects of water, which inspire designers, there are also the material ones that often construct a creation, while, nowadays, inspiration mingles with ecology to create designs that implement recycled materials found in the oceans.

Deep Sea – Nendo for Glasitalia

This furniture series, inspired by the colour palette of the sea, includes a table and a bookcase made by the adhesion of transparent, coloured film onto glass sheets. Starting from the top, each glass surface is gradually placed closer and closer to the next one while the colour gets darker, until the last one meets the mirror placed on the surface of the base, thus creating a visual game of depth.

Concept by: Nendo

Photo by: Hiroshi Iwasaki

Made by Rain - Aliki van der Kruijs

In an attempt to render by hand the experience of rain, Dutch designer Aliki van der Kruijs created the textile series Made by Rain. For this, she photographed drops of rain at different times and places, using a film coating that is sensitive to water, and after transferring the print onto a piece of silk textile, she produced surfaces with unique patterns. These textiles function as a living collection of weather conditions.

Concept by: Aliki van der Kruijs

Photo by: Pim Leenen, Lonneke van der Palen, Femke Hoekstra, Ester Grass Vergara

Aether – Christina Skouloudi

The series of table utensils “Aether” is launching lightweight, functional anodised aluminium objects with a silk-like finish and colour that references the Greek summer, which is dominated by water. Plates, water or wine decanters, and wine coolers, all with simple design and soft colours, inspired by the working-class taverns, constitute this series.

Concept by: Christina Skouloudi

Kink Vase – Earnest Studio for Muuto in collaboration with Julius Værnes Iversen

The quite famous, archetypal Kink Vase, with its double opening, combines a playful disposition with traditional handcrafting, resulting in a vase that, whether used or not, functions as a sculpture. Despite its rotund shape, its lightweight nature is given away by its soft blue or pink colour and sandy texture. Occasioned by the launching of the object by the Muuto platform, Julius Værnes Iversen, founder of Tableau, created unique plant arrangements that showcase Kink Vase’s design.

Concept by: Earnest Studio, Benjamin Lund, Julius Værnes Iversen

Photo by: Benjamin Lund

The Elements – The New Raw for Coca-Cola Greece

With sustainable design in mind, The New Raw design studio envisioned a complete furniture series for the beach, using a material made from sea waste. This material, through a 3D printer, creates curved forms that generate a pathway, a beach chair and a changing room. The form, structure and material serve the space economy of the creation and its functionality, while each object is 100% recyclable.

Concept by: The New Raw

Ocean OC2 Collection – Nanna & Joergen Ditzel x Mater

In 2018, the Danish duo Ditzel designed for the first time the Ocean Collection, consisting of furniture made from recycled fishing nets from 1955. In an attempt to broaden the eco-friendly furniture production for the brand Mater, this collection was enriched with three more pieces: the Ocean Bench, Ocean Lounge Table and Ocean Chair. These are made from a metallic skeleton and surfaces made from recycled plastic beer kegs.

Concept by: Mater, Nanna & Joergen Ditzel

Musselblomma - Inma Bermúdez & Susana Rodríguez for Ikea

For the production of the textile collection from the well-known furniture chain, recycled plastic from the Mediterranean sea was used. Tablecloths, fabric bags and pillowcases from this textile are adorned with a playful and modern pattern that evokes the sea: geometric shapes accompanied by fish-like shapes in blue, green and pink colourations.

Concept by: Inma Bermúdez & Susana Rodríguez

Ocean Travertine Stone Collection - Clément Brazille for Ateliers Romeo

Using travertine -a kind of coastal limestone- as a piece of wood, instead of stone, Clément Brazille created these delicate yet stable desks, tables and side tables. Through carving limestone, the many layers of time that have created the material are revealed. It’s an especially durable furniture that can suit both interior or exterior spaces.

Concept by: Clément Brazille

Photo by: Baptiste Coulon

Ocean Memories Collection - Mathieu Lehanneur

These solid marble surfaces seem on the verge of becoming liquid. It’s a creation by Mathieu Lehanneur that reminds us the nature of humans, as a being that lives in a lively world, a being which, staring at the ocean, feels both fragile and strong. The hard marble, with the help of a 3D special effects software, is turned into unique tables, stools and seats with a smooth finish.

Concept by: Mathieu Lehanneur

Fall collection 2021 - Sahar Livne for Balenciaga

These innovative jewellery pieces (three different bracelets, a ring and two pairs of earrings) were released exclusively for the collection “Balenciaga's Afterworld: Age of Tomorrow” of the famous house, for the Fall of 2021. Vintage designs of old jewellery were implemented through a new material made from plastic collected from the sea with carbon calcium. The objects went through a scanner and 3D printer to acquire a unified look.

Concept by: Sahar Livne

Photo by: AlanBoom