Tree bark

GIRIA

GIRIA is a homeware collection balancing tactility, shape and colour.

The project is aimed to replicate the sensations of the forest through a material, to establish a connection between the user, nature and the object.

This collection is the result of an experimental process by which it was meant to show how materials, which are destined to become waste - tree bark and leaves - can be transformed into sustainable design through traditional crafts. No two items in GIRIA are the same: each is made by hand from the bark dust of different kinds of trees (Oak, Pine, Ash and tree leaves) that gives a unique texture, varying in colour and roughness of a surface. All the items are coated with a mix of food-safe oils to make them more durable. The materials in GIRIA may change slowly over time and the collection distinguishes itself from mass production, making the products as individual as their owners.

Making process

Different types of tree bark waste are collected from a few sawmill companies around Vilnius.

The process of making objects consists of a few stages: collecting bark, drying, grinding, sieving, boiling a natural binding substance, mixing it with bark powder, forming objects in the moulds and finally letting them dry for a few weeks. Objects change and deform while drying. Changes mostly depend on the thickness of the object.

Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.