We have all heard of the term fast fashion with the likes of H&M and Zara leading the way and now retail chains have been moving into fast homewares.
Currently 41 per cent of used and unwanted clothes are thrown away instead of being recycled. So how will these shopping habits transfer into the homewares industry as millennials begin to move out of home? With fast homewares goods readily available in department stores such as Kmart and Big W there is cause for concern.
In a society labelled the ‘waste generation’, South African artist and designer, Carrol Boyes, is flipping the shopping mentality, reminding people to spend money on quality gifts instead of feeding the short lived pleasure of inexpensive and low quality purchases that add to the growing wastage in Australia.
Each item in her range of homewares is designed and hand-crafted in a variety of lead-free pewter, fully recyclable stainless steel and food-safe aluminium.
“I try to create items that are accessible to most people, rather than just an elite few,” she explains.
“I’ve always aimed to combine sculpture with functionality. It’s easier for people to justify buying an expensive object that they have fallen in love with if they have a practical use for it.”
Most of Carrol Boyes products are all handmade, something she is still very proud of in a world where mass production is the norm.
“You would be amazed at how many pairs of hands can go in to the making of just one piece. Every person that touches it puts a little bit of their own soul into that piece and no matter how alike they look, no two pieces can ever be exactly the same.”
Some of the items available to fill store shelves include the Mandarin Dish―Men at Work, which is perfect for Christmas centrepiece arrangements; the Recipe Book Stand―What’s Cooking, for the celebrated Christmas family favourites and the ‘Aura’ Coupe Glass Set to serve the finest bubbly or desserts. For something smaller, opt for the stylish Bottle Stopper―At Rest, which is the perfect gift for a home bar.
