The sheer amount of waste that we throw away, we see Labels like Vapasee Designs boldly imagine a future that is significantly different from the status quo, where many people only see broken pieces, they see stunning sculptures instead. Established by a visionary artist who has evolved into an environmentalist, Renjini Thampi, this pioneering upcycling brand from Kerala transcends the label of being merely another home furnishings brand.
Each and every one of Vapasee's creations has its origin in the wake of a celebration — take the discarded wine bottle carelessly tossed aside after a celebratory night out, or the shattered beer bottle left along the road; forgotten and abandoned. Such things are so much more than just material; they are both potential and inspiration. Glass, notoriously notorious for its extremely slow rate of degradation, can take over a million years to break down and return to the earth from which it was naturally conceived. And yet, at Vapasee, that very same glass is brought back to life anew and afresh; re-emerging in the form of some lovely wind chimes that sing softly when rustled by the soft breeze, breathtaking cheese platters that serve a purpose beyond simply holding food, and cozy, inviting candles that not only illuminate the way, but also provide warmth and added significance to spaces.
It is certainly not easy work by any stretch of the imagination. This is not precisely the sort of recycling that takes place on a factory assembly line. Every object used in this process is carefully hand-sourced, painstakingly cleaned, skillfully cut, expertly fire-formed, and expertly finished — often with tools and techniques that are somewhat similar to the ones used in sculptural practices. At Vapasee, flattening a bottle into a stunning platter or threading it with stunning brass to catch the wind is not so much thought of as a craft — it is, in fact, a form of meditation.
What Vapasee offers is not ornamentation. It's emotional architecture. A sense of calm; of slowing down; of intentionality. In rooms too often ruled by plastic, screens, and velocity, their work restores balance, piece by piece; one upcycled artefact at a time. Their installation work is similarly evocative and profoundly affective.
On the world-famous Kochi Design Week stage, the Vapasee creative team staged a stunning installation called 'The Glass Throne' — a superb upcycled monument built purely from waste bottles and reused planters. The dramatic installation was not just present in a space; instead, it was imbued with life, breathing, and thriving as it supported flowering plants and spurred thoughtful discussions over pressing issues such as waste, sustainability, and survival in modern times. It was an energising call for action that had a lot to say without directly saying a single word.
Vapasee is a steadfast champion of the idea of second chances for those things that might otherwise be forgotten. In doing so, they're challenging us to reconsider and reimagine the very nature and character of the worlds that we live and breathe in. What if we were to begin to consider sustainability not as a passing buzzword that arrives and departs, but as an enduring condition of being, of existing, and of constructing the realms around us?
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