Data of the source, distance and waste of every piece in the furniture industry is hard to come by.  Although initiatives are occurring around the notion of transparency and sustainability, the final product we see still emanates from much waste. We might not be aware of the waste but it does exist and in fact it is a huge problem for many companies as they try to produce the least possible. In the case of leather, about 25 to 30 percent of it is considered waste in the furniture industry and to some people such waste can ignite a new beginning. Dutch Studio Pepe Heykoop based in Amsterdam, saw an opportunity utilizing waste leather and using all the fragments to create a new dimension to old and existing furniture pieces.

At first glance you don't know how to react; they seem quite unorganized, perhaps chaotic but still something pulls you in to find out more about its inception and production. From afar the furniture seems to look like they have been layered with plaster or clay; they seem unfinished and unpolished. The reality is the complete opposite. They are finished, they are polished. Reminiscing of cell structures which compound and grow into a complex set of networked geometries, these leather fragments take shape around individual pieces connecting with each other as the edges naturally terminate. There is no value to the isolated pieces. The power and value comes from the connection of many. In this skin network, there is no defined model or concealed termination;  the pieces unfold naturally as they were once disregarded. Now they come to play as a protagonist role shaping ordinary pieces into veins of leather with a new purpose and new life.

The aggregation of these leather fragments are exposed, the colors are combined and their imperfections are celebrated for their uniqueness and accentuated as they meet. The binding moment creates beautiful leading lines that give a new dimension of texture and aesthetic to the pieces. The final product is a random skin pattern that slightly connects us to the natural environment as it growths beyond us and without control. This technique also provides new ways to combine different furniture pieces and bind them as one with leather. You would think the pieces are going through major surgery and projecting new combinations through one skin.

No matter how you feel about the esthetics or approach to the pieces, the Skin collection by Studio Pepe Heykoop is taking waste and giving it new life. The pieces are a manifestation of our flawed processes but also the beauty of the things we create with a sustainability story.  Skin generates a new discourse on how we can use waste as a tool to innovate and create interesting work.