THE CONCEPT
Holland is a country that is half below sea level and protected by dikes. Every year, about 320.000 Dutch muskrats are being killed. This is necessary because they make their homes in watersides and dikes, which causes a great risk for the safety of the Dutch people. This costs around 31 million euro’s per year. Because the pest control companies don’t want to be associated with the fur industry, all the dead muskrats are being destroyed.
THE RESULT
What a waste! There is a big opportunity here to make products out of ‘ecologic’ fur. The animals were being killed anyway, so they are not especially bred and killed for their skin. Four muskrats turn into one pair of nice warm gloves. The porcelain stud has a Delft’s blue image of a muskrat. That way you can show what you are wearing; ecologic fur taken off Dutch ground.
Presented in Het Zeeuws Museum, The Grand Summer exhibition in the Oranienbaum Palace, Germany, Dutch Design Week 2010 & 2011, Milan Design week 2011, The New Dutch Design exposition in the Rai Amsterdam, TV program College Tour”(With vice-president of Holland Maxime Verhagen as main guest), Material Experience of Materia in the Jaarbeurs Utrecht. Publication in the national newspapers De Volkskrant, the front page of the NRC, NRC Next and Trouw and Items magazine. Winner of the
Allumonde Ring 2010 because of the strong social relevance of the project.
