Botanical Manufacture

This experimental collection of vessels is inspired by the ancient traditional craft of gourd moulding prominent in China in the 18th Century. It consists of placing a mould over the fruit of the Lagenaria plant (a genus of gourd bearing vines, part of the Cucurbitaceae family) so that it marries the shape of the mould as it grows. This research experiment explores the concept of slow manufacturing versus rapid prototyping and proposes to revisit botanical methods to grow contemporary utilitarian products, at ambient temperature.