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If you are looking for great examples of objects born into a second life, Deptford Design Market Challenge ^[5] is just the ticket. As part of the London Design Festival’s ^[6] green schedule of events, The Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank is housing The Deptford Design Challenge until 25th September. Twenty-six international designers, including Conran and Partners, Stuart Haygarth ^[7], Martí Guixé, and Based Upon, were invited to redesign discarded objects from Deptford Thrift Market, turning market bargains from a broken desk fan to a dirty sofa into new and functional designs. Challenging the preconceptions of usefulness and beauty, the designers were asked to use their talents to re-work the item; creating something unique, desirable and functional.

By re-interpreting the discarded, the aim of the Market Challenge is to inspire and encourage designers to think about re-using what is available before creating an entirely new product from scratch. The possibilities for regeneration are endless: compressing or manipulating the object; reengineering it; using it as an image for a website.

The small collection of designs are exhibited amongst a mass of white painted material goods, from the odd mobile phone, a walking boot, a tea set and a camcorder. The work on display holds interesting value to the recycling of discarded material products. Three key re-designed objects I found today included a discarded guitar named “No Strings Attached” from Conran and Partners ^[8] which intelligently combines iPod technology with a musical classic, Gitta Gschwendtner’s ^[9] shuttlecock lampshade “Shuttlecock Science”, and the “Nanny’s Chair” by Life is a Suite, made from second hand tea cloths and aprons.

+ Deptford Design Challenge ^[5]