SPIRALITY
You are most likely familiar with the term “circularity” or references to the “circular economy.” We believe this to be a great idea but feel that it does not reflect the reality of the way things truly work. In order for circularity to function properly it requires no breakdowns at any point of the cycle to create an unbroken circle where the remnants of a product are entirely utilized in the creation of a new product. It sounds great in theory but it doesn’t take into consideration the realistic breakdowns that can and do occur at various stages of the cycle. These breakdowns come from consumers, manufacturers or the entities in between. Regardless of who is responsible we must face the brutal truth that the things we create will one day become trash, decaying into the ground, air and water of our planet.
The concept that we’ve dubbed spirality follows the same cycle as circularity: raw materials, production, distribution, consumption, reuse/repair/recycle, repeat. But it has a couple key differences; First, it has a dedicated point of initial creation = the outermost point where the spiral begins. Second, it accounts for losses of material/product/etc for every pass around the circle = the circle slowly becomes smaller and smaller as it makes every full rotation. And lastly, it has a dedicated end of life, i.e. the point where the material/product/etc becomes waste = this is the innermost point of the spiral where it ceases to continue.
The important thing about spirality is that it attempts to employ all the actions of the circularity model but it takes into consideration that it is impossible for us as manufacturers to control every stage of the circle. This takes us to the key difference of spirality versus circularity: ultimate consideration for what happens at the product’s end of life, when it becomes waste. How will it impact the environment?
This question is the biggest influence on the products that we use in production and the materials we choose to work with. This is why we choose to use animal hide glue instead of traditional PVA wood glue. This is why we finish our pieces with products like shellac and tung oil instead of synthetic varnish. We put a lot of work into researching these things so that we own our responsibility as makers and minimize our impact upon our planet and those that call it home. This commitment is what makes our furniture, jewelry and objects truly sustainable.
TRANSPARENCY
We understand that both furniture and jewelry are generally considered to be “luxury items.” But we also ask the question “how can things that we depend upon in our daily lives be considered luxury purchases?” A lamp to light our home. A hook to hang our jackets on. A necklace that instills confidence in the way we look and feel about ourselves. To us, these are not luxury products. They are products for everyone.
We also understand that our products are different than other products that fill the same important roles in our lives. But that’s because our process is different. Rather than being mass produced from virgin materials by underpaid hands, we regularly hunt for secondhand and waste materials to create one-of-a-kind products while paying ourselves and the others we work with a livable wage.
So, naturally, this means that there is going to be a difference in the price we sell our products for compared to what IKEA or Zara or Wayfair or Desigual or (insert pretty much any large corporation) sells their products for.
We believe in full transparency in what we do and the prices we charge for our products. For just about everything we make our material costs are incredibly low as we create from waste and repurposed materials. Sometimes we need to purchase electrical components or glues or finishes or hardware or other items but this typically makes up a small fraction of our prices.
Our product prices are almost entirely dependent upon the labor that goes into creating our pieces. You will notice that with all the products made by Lu & MDT the number of hours spent to create each piece is shown to give you, our customer, a better understanding of where the price comes from. We allow all other artists that sell their work in our studio to set the prices they see fit for themselves.
Working with waste and secondhand materials requires considerable time just to get the materials to a state where we can begin working with them versus going and buying brand new materials that are all ready to work with. They need love to bring out their true beauty. Only when we reach this point can we start our “manufacturing” process. This is the world of working with repurposed materials so when people say “sustainability comes at a price,” this is why. But as both creators AND consumers, we believe this price is worth it for the sake of both people and planet.