Cultivated
Furniture repair (Thornbury)


The scale of furniture waste in Australia is difficult to measure–the numbers that circulate are old, borrowed, and often misinterpreted. Existing figures are largely derived from industry rather than independently researched, but it is estimated that 35,000 tonnes of commercial furniture is disposed of annually.1 Domestic waste is even harder to determine. The most referenced figures come from a survey in Sydney by EC Sustainable, which suggested that the approximately 2 million households dispose of 48,000 tonnes annually.2 Extrapolated across Australia's roughly 9 million households, the national figure could plausibly exceed 200,000 tonnes annually, though this assumes waste patterns are consistent across regions, which is far from certain. The exact figures are perhaps less important than what they point to–we know this is a significant volume of waste and, if viewed differently, a significant volume of potential.

At Shared Practice we are commencing research into local material waste streams as we work to develop a design collection that uses what already exists. Part of this research involves connecting with experts in the field to better understand both the problems and the pathways forward. At least four peers had recommended that we speak to Josh at Cultivated. They were right, if you want a crash course in repair, sustainable production, and local manufacturing–Josh knows all. 

Cultivated, the sister company to Cult Design was established to restore, reinvigorate and recycle original design, creating a sustainable economy for authentic furniture and lighting. Sharing a factory with Mark Tuckey (another Cult subsidiary) the Cultivated workshop is filled with authentic furniture items salvaged from airports, offices and private residences, awaiting restoration before returning to their original homes. 

Josh described what designers would see as a beautiful patinaed original chair, corporate office workers see as a worn out old seat. No better exemplified than by the catalyst for Cultivated’s inception, where more than three trucks worth of authentic design was emptied from a Sydney office block penned for redevelopment. Josh got the call and had hours to collect what he could before it went to landfill. Each item was thoughtfully assessed for repair, restoration or reimagination. For this reason we firmly believe Cultivated should be at the top of every architect and interior designer's contact book, particularly for redevelopment projects.

As we walked the warehouse floor Josh showed us shelves stacked with original chairs including; Eames Aluminium Group Side Chair, Fritz Hansen Series 7, Knoll Bertoia Diamond Armchair, Hans Wegner OX Chair, Fritz Hansen Swan Chair and Arper Dining Chairs to name a few. Each chair awaits treatments from, polishing, to new components and reupholstery, all telling a story of a system, not designed for longevity and repair–where disposability and replacement has historically been the most economic choice. Cultivated don’t simply ensure that your chair comes back in its original form, but do so following the most ecologically minded route, substituting materials and processes for newer technologies. 

Seemingly every item that enters the workshop is an invitation to research best-practice material processes further. Cultivated's material library spans both old and new. It includes planks well over 100 years old, distinguished by a thickness and length unachievable with current plantation timber. This history sits alongside cutting-edge materials such as EcoLattice (a 3D-printed recycled thermoplastic polyurethane substitute for high-density upholstery foam),3 FABtec (a compressed board made from Australian polyester textile waste),4 and Woolpack (an alternative to Dacron).5

Josh’s obsession with materials is scaffolded by a network of innovators and manufacturers that fuel an ongoing pursuit for improved circular systems, as well as an alliance of in-house and external designers. Our visit was bookmarked, by meetings with Ben Edwards from Studio Edwards and Adam Goodrum. Whilst examples of their in-house design team were best represented by Marc Newson designed coffee tables that were reworked into side tables and stools. Here they salvaged the seemingly impossible, laminated chipboard that simply could not be restored. 

Leaving the workshop it was clear to us that Cultivated’s circular design could be visualised like a venn diagram intersecting with the work of interior designers, architects, developers, furniture designers, curators and manufacturers. The central promise is less landfill and more good design. Cultivated’s ethos feels like a colective invitaition to do better–to reimagine the future of materials and making.


Notes

  1. Edge Impact (2021) ‘Tackling Australia’s largest waste stream.’ https://www.edgeimpact.global/case-studies/fit-for-office

  2. Vender, M (2015) ‘Landfill: Australia’s ‘Underground’ Furniture Movement.’ Handkrafted. https://www.handkrafted.com/blog/landfill-australias-underground-furniture-movement

  3. EcoLattice https://www.ecolattice.uk

  4. FABtec https://fabtecaus.com/

  5. Planet Protector https://www.planetprotectorgroup.com



Words by EK + JH, photographs by JH

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