Tuba Design: Comeback

From old to new” – sounds banal, but recycling design is still one of the most demanding and creative challenges for designers. Emmy Galle and Bruno Winter of Tuba Design managed to implement this motto with very simple means.

Tuba Design enamels old, worn-out cutlery and thus turns it into desirable design objects. The monochrome enamel unifies the abandoned pieces of cutlery deriving from different series, ages and countries: Art Nouveau meets Lufthansa cutlery, turn-of-the-century silverware lies side by side with industrial stainless steel. However, no piece of cutlery loses its unique appeal. The durable and scratchproof enamel – as we know it from grandmothers’ pots – is food-safe, easy-care, dishwasher-safe and completely recyclable with other discarded metal.

Not only the environment but also the social responsibility is important to the two designers: all production, from the organization of estate liquidations to the baking of the enamel can be done at workshops in shelters for underprivileged people. “The people there experience social
inclusion, regularity, belonging and a second chance. Just like our orphaned enamelled pieces of cutlery”, designer Emmy Galle describes the social value of the project.