WWU Industrial Design Students to Showcase Products at ‘ReMade: Culinary’ Event Through Nov. 16

Western Washington University’s Industrial Design junior class will showcase a sustainable entrepreneurship exhibition “ReMade: Culinary” from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2 at Ideal, located at 1227 Cornwall Ave. in Bellingham.

Products will stay on display and for sale at Ideal until Nov. 16.

In just a few weeks, each of the 12 students designed a product, sourced all the recycled and repurposed materials, produced a limited edition run of 20 of the items, and created all packaging and branding for their piece.

Autumn Dirksen, of La Center, Wash., designed bowls out of vinyl records. Dirksen said when brainstorming her product, she thought a lot about materials that interest her and settled on vinyl records.

“I really like the idea of recycling these [records] into something new,” she said. “Once you scratch a record, it’s no good anymore, and most cities don’t have the infrastructure to recycle vinyl.”

Dirksen’s process leaves the records mostly intact by heating and shaping them. Once shaped and hardened, she’ll paint the bowls and seal them to make them safe for use with food.

The event is a first time experience for many of the students, including Dirksen. Since this is Dirksen’s first time selling her products, she is most excited for the buyer-seller interaction the event provides and to hear the public’s feedback on her product.

The staff at Ideal provides guidance to the students during the process, sharing thoughts from a retail perspective as well as hosting the sale.

Whether the event is successful primarily depends on the students. Dirksen said the students have had to work together to design the front-window displays, posters and other promotional materials.

“It’s all on us,” Dirksen said. “But I really think it inspires you to do the best you can.”

For more information on the annual ReMade project, contact Arunas Oslapas, Western Washington University Professor of Industrial Design at arunas.oslapas@wwu.edu, or Western’s Industrial Design department at wwuidsa@gmail.com.