“Certain designs become interesting when they are made under limitations”, Anna Maria Sand Jensen, Danish designer.

Anna Maria Sand Jensen focuses on upcycling materials for circular design.

Anna Maria Sand Jensen is a designer driven by curiosity, asking herself, “What would happen if I combined these materials?”  Since her studies in Crafts and Glass at the Royal Danish Academy, she intended to make the world a better place. To reuse materials when they are limited. This is what she calls “Unwasted”. And by unwasting, we see how her curiosity and compromise crystallize in unique designs.  

We collaborated with Anna Maria for the Handcraft Soap Holder and could not be happier. Her work in upcycling materials is inspiring, which is why we talked with her about the power of circular design.  

So, what is your research about? 

When I started as a student at the Royal Danish Academy,  I did background research on the ceramic industry, finding out about the mining industry which has quite a connection with ceramics and waste.  

During my first week at the academy, I got aware that some aspects were crossing my values. I decided to take it as a positive input to my designing process and use it as a motivation. I created different exam projects and free time projects to expand my knowledge on ceramics and make my own materials, instead of using what we have available at the academy, which are from a mining industry, which isn’t a bad thing. But for me it is something I have to ask; where do we get our materials from when we design?  

Also, I was using materials from many failed exam projects from other students or myself and from the ceramic/glass dumpster at campus and the recycling station.

My interest became a research project. I did my bachelor's thesis based on all this. I was making collaborations with some local companies. For example, here on the Island Bornholm, there is a farm with a lot of wheat production. When they are harvesting, they use the waste straw for biogas. But, some of it is not needed, there is simply too much. As well in case they burnt it off, the fields can´t obtain this quantity of ashes. I researched how I could use this waste ashes. From this material, I ended up making ceramic glaze. 

I also managed to collaborate with a major company with egg production in Denmark. I got a lot of the eggshells from their pasteurized eggs production, which I turned into ceramic glaze. So, I was activating the social aspects of circularity, in the sense of closing the circles of the waste locally. I was creating a close connection with the people who have waste and understanding how these materials may be reused. And by reusing this waste I designed big tiles for architecture. The tiles have been exhibited in several places, received awards and grants, and Unwasted is still today, a flourishing ongoing project.  

My work is based on finding the value in what is called waste – which I define as “Unwasted”, because then it becomes a material with designed value. That is why I got in contact with Irene (Go Cirkulär’s CEO) because we have similar values to make unique products by combining aesthetics and storytelling.  

The soap holder is made with 75% crushed ceramic waste and porcelain.

What is your main motivation during this process? 

I think for me the motivation is curiosity, which is the way to be creative.  We are faced with a lot of conflicting themes about the world, the environment for instance, but instead of seeing it as a limitation, I stay curious, positive and open. At the end, when you study design, certain designs become interesting when they are made under limitations. 

So, I always liked to understand how things work. Think outside of the box - but also inside the box. Doing both. To see what you can do with little and what you can do with a lot of material. 

What motivated you to collaborate with Go Cirkulär? 

I was fascinated by how Irene was working during the design fairs. She has been presenting a product, and I really like her purity of intention. She really has a deep interest in what she is doing. And that harmonizes with my own curiosity. I could see we could easily understand each other.  

Zero Waste Soap is crafted from organic, cold-pressed upcycled sesame oil.

It was not only about doing fantastic skincare and helping someone. It is also about doing something from reused materials. In that sense, we mirror each other. The design, too, of what she is doing has very nice aesthetics. Also, I like the idea of you taking care of yourself, the wellbeing aspect, because it has also to do with sustainability. I mean, if we talk about sustainability for people, we should be able to take care of others and ourselves too, mentally and physically.  

So, we collaborated based on those values (sustainability and caring), because, even though I am not making skincare and neither is she doing ceramics, we still can do something together. 

How was the process to create the soap holders?  

The technical aspect of it was collecting waste materials for ceramics and making sure they do not have any toxins. Last point is relevant because there are still circulating toxic materials in our society which we don’t use anymore. For example, I only collect ceramics with glaze from the academy, since I know we don’t use these materials. With this process I as well also close the loop of the waste stream inside the academy.  

Then, I have my methods and techniques on how to make recipes. I make material that acts like clay, but it is not clay - it is a material consisting of for instance broken ceramic cups! Then I make a mold or hand build with this material, which is first consisting of several powders, since it is easier to work with and mix.   

After that, I have the design face. In this case, I met with Irene at Malmö, looking at all my glaze tests. We had a organic and minimalistic aesthetics in mind. We developed the concept of the soap holder to fit with the Go Cirkulär soaps, which I got one home with me. I designed the holder by having the product next to me. I had it while I was developing the waste-based glazes and doing research. I aimed to match the color palette of the holder with the one of the soaps, and bring a nice texture to it.   

Of course, some of the process has to do with testing a lot. Many things do not go as planned, but you keep going. And you always save your tests because they can be useful for something else.  

Another important aspect of my process is to be open to diversity when I am using waste to get different results. To be open to the idea that aesthetics can be fluid, to be curious to see what happens when the materials are use or interact between themselves.  

By utilizing 65-100% waste-based glazes, these holders reduce or have no reliance on virgin materials like clay, oxides, and mined substances.

How do you think that circular design can benefit the community? 

I think that circularity is not something new. It is something that has been present before many of us were even here. If you look at some societies, they don’t have as many resources as here or have more harsh conditions. So, they must be creative and innovative to make things profitable to them, not only moneywise, but by saving time or resources.  

Therefore, circularity is somehow logical because you would like to have objects beneficial for many people in the long term.  Also, the idea of reusing or re sharing objects instead of thinking ; “ Oh, my closet broke, I have to throw it out. “ But instead reflect on, maybe I can use the shelfs, could I take the hanger out or can I rebuild it? Instead of thinking “it was cheap, let's buy a new one”.   

Maybe this happens because we are very busy in the flow of information, we don’t have the time to rethink the objects we have before we get something new. This urgency of purchasing and purchasing the cheaper things sometimes is easier because we do not have always time needed for rethinking solutions.  

Back part of the holder. Each holder is uniquely glazed with waste-derived materials such as hay, eggshells, and metal from recycling stations.

What would you recommend to achieve a more sustainable future? 

It has to do a lot with opening your eyes and senses. And to take care of the objects and the people around you, the living beings around you. Seeing where, with small actions, we are already being circular, not only seeing where we are not. 

Also, I think exchange and collaboration is very important because we may be smart, but we are smarter together. Maybe I am doing quite something, but can I exchange ideas with someone else? How are other people doing some of the recycling or reusing?

I set up my own little recycling station at the Royal Danish Academy during my bachelor thesis. Simply, I put some buckets, and I made a sign saying: “If you have a broken cup, put it here. If it's glazed, put it here etc.”.  The first two weeks nothing happened, then suddenly I collected “mountains”. People started getting curious, instead of dumping the waste in the dumpster, they would see it become a beautiful tile or be part of something bigger. With actions like this, you can start closing the loop a bit.  

By Jorge Sagastume