Paul Cremoux’s “Yuxtaposiciones” gets you thinking and keeps you pondering Sustainability

How does an object d’art transcend its material form into an abstract idea?

The capability of design is so fundamentally revolutionary in nature, that it has the implicit power to influence thoughts. These thoughts have the potential to become trends, and these trends to change our environment….literally.

With his background at UNAM (Mexico), Columbia University (USA) and EPAD (France), Paul uses his multicultural experience to attempt to make a strong statement on the environmental impact of all that we acquire. The design of his rug for the exhibit “Tapetes – Anudando historias, enlazando ideas” which was exhibited at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City in the Spring of 2011, is an exploration in environmental impact and sustainability.

The rug, “Yuxtaposiciones” has references to it’s impact:

Photo - F. Etulain

- The grey and off-white contrasting lines were designed in Mexico and represent a baseline to blur and confuse the eye into one monochromatic color base.

- The colored part of the design are the inscribed woven names of each of the weavers that participated in the actual hand weaving manufacturing process. Furthermore, the colors are selected from the remains of the wool used in the manufacturing process of other custom rugs for Odabashian. Thus, “Yuxtaposiciones” seeks to empower the actual weavers to be an active participant in the composition of the rug itself.

Furthermore, the rug installation is exhibited with a Google Maps detailed trajectory of the logistics that the raw materials, transformation and finished goods underwent throughout the entire process.

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And as a final and clear statement, Paul includes the calculation of the mass of CO2 released by the production of one of these rugs across the entire supply chain process.

Here is a short video of Paul discussing his rug (Spanish)

Contact us to see how we can use our 90-year experience to manufacture one-of-a-kind design rugs for your project.

Jute and Hemp – Sustainable options for any project – Large or small!

Jute is fast becoming the weaving material of choice for designers in budget and luxury projects that are usually located on beaches and warm tropical resort areas across the globe.

Jute has been used in the Eastern area of India for over 5,000 years as a material that solves many of humanity’s basic design needs. Clothes, bags, beds, coverings, storage, sacks, packaging and insulation are a few of the applications that can be attributed to this wonder material.

Jute grows naturally and is a rain-fed crop with little need for fertilizer or pesticide. Therefore, it is an ideal crop that maintains little or no negative ecological impact. It grows very quickly and can be in production stages much quicker than other fiber plants. Furthermore, the washing and carding process for finishing the rugs is done with minimal use of chemicals. Therefore it is an ideal option for low environmental impact projects such as LEED or Green Globe.

Odabashian frequently uses Jute, hemp and seagrass to manufacture innovative designs that work well with many different types of decor.

All Odabashian natural fiber rugs are strictly controlled to comply with all Fair Trade policies:

• Anti-slave, anti-child labor
• Environmentally friendly processes
• A respectful relationship between producers and buyers
• A fair wage for the producers
• A healthy working environment for producers
• Gender equality with respects to wages and working conditions
• The development of communities for self-sustainability

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If your design firm or your property needs rugs that are low in environmental impact, please contact us

Rugs made out of sustainable materials

Odabashian is now developing contemporary designed high-grade, hand-knotted rugs with sustainable materials such as Hemp, jute and sisal/seagrass.

Used across North India for over 3000 years, this material is now re-emerging as a material alternative that is re-invigorating once underutilized cropland across the Indian sub-continent.

Check some of our designs.
For more designs and a personalized quote, contact us