{"id":2917,"date":"2021-04-14T06:46:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T06:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/portrait-recyclemented-uberlin\/"},"modified":"2021-04-14T08:09:09","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T08:09:09","slug":"portrait-recyclemented-uberlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uberlin.co.uk\/portrait-recyclemented-uberlin\/","title":{"rendered":"Portrait: Recyclemented – \u00fcberlin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Portrait: Recyclemented<\/h3>\n

by Guest Blogger<\/span><\/h4>\n
\n

\"jacquie<\/a><\/p>\n

by Emma Robertson<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

For Clement Jeannesson and Jacquie Kappl, furniture construction is a labour of love. Their design company, Recyclemented<\/a>, is less than a year old; although in many ways it\u2019s still a hobby, the pair is working tirelessly to build it up into a fully-fledged career, one palette at a time. Using found wood, discarded materials and (especially) old EuroPalettes, Clement and Jacquie are giving new life to Berlin\u2019s forsaken and forgotten: the result is strikingly unique furniture, each with its own twist on the traditional.<\/em><\/p>\n

Clement and Jacquie, originally from France and Germany respectively, started Recyclemented in Melbourne, Australia. \u201cWe moved to the Gold Coast and we were pretty poor at the time,\u201d Jacquie explains. \u201cWe had an apartment but we had no furniture, so we started building stuff out of bits and pieces we found on the side of the road. At some point, we had like seven tables in our place!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s become something of a Cinderella story since they relocated to Berlin at the beginning of this year; although Clement has a history in mechanics and steelwork, both are self-taught woodworkers, picking up the tricks of the trade through YouTube videos, online tutorials, and good old trial-and-error. We caught up with Clement and Jacquie at their studio in Lichtenberg to talk upcycling, working in Berlin, and how passion drives creativity.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"recyclemented<\/p>\n

What is more important as a designer, form or function?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clement Jeannesson:<\/strong> Function, for sure! Function is better because if you make a chair that looks beautiful but you can\u2019t sit on it, what\u2019s the point?<\/p>\n

Jacquie Kappl:<\/strong> He always lectures me on that one! (Laughs) I have all these ideas, \u201cWe have to do this! We can make it like that!\u201d but then Clement comes in, \u201cNope. It\u2019s not sehr gut<\/em>.\u201d (Laughs)<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> Well, it has to be useful! What are you going to do with it? We\u2019re selling furniture first. It\u2019s an art piece in the end \u2014 it\u2019s beautiful, sure, but it\u2019s furniture. It has to serve its purpose. It can be a nice table but it has to work.<\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> I have a lot of ideas. I\u2019m the dreamer of the two of us. For Clement, it\u2019s more about actually putting the ideas to paper.<\/p>\n

\"working<\/p>\n

Where do you come up with your best ideas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> For me it\u2019s non-stop! Everywhere I go! It\u2019s 24\/7 for me. When I\u2019m at work, I get ideas and I can just take them and run with it. I\u2019m a bit obsessed with being creative, trying to come up with more ideas, more and more and more, and then \u2014 the best part \u2014 actually turning them into something.<\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> Clement is teaching me to come up with my ideas before I come to work, to bring them to the shop and then work on them here instead of wasting time sitting around thinking. It actually really is helpful because at the start, I wasn\u2019t doing that. I\u2019d just come in, sit here, turn around the wood, thinking, looking at everything\u2026<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> We don\u2019t have a lot of materials so that affects us creatively. We\u2019re never going to do 12 of the same table, for example, because I\u2019m never going to be able to find 12 of the same kind of wood! So, every time it\u2019s a bit of a challenge because you have to make it work with what you\u2019ve got. But the more we do it, the easier it gets. It\u2019s never boring.<\/p>\n

\"closeup<\/p>\n

Do you ever get tired of that challenge, though?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s extra challenging and at the same time, it isn\u2019t. It appeals to a customer that wants something unique. But at the end of the day, there\u2019s a style they\u2019re asking for so you can\u2019t always give them exactly that because you\u2019re tied to the types of wood you find\u2026<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> It\u2019s also difficult because you don\u2019t want to do something too<\/em> unique every time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fine balance, I guess. If people wanted cookie-cutter furniture, they\u2019d go to IKEA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> Exactly. Plus, in terms of what we\u2019re doing, we don\u2019t have a lot of competition at the moment. If there\u2019s anyone else doing recycled material furniture with our same style, we haven\u2019t heard of it.<\/p>\n

Is it necessary to push boundaries like that when you\u2019re working in a field that is so traditional?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> I have to say, this job has been here forever! Before steel, before everything, woodworking was always here. So, yes, if you don\u2019t do something a little bit different, you don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> Especially in Berlin where there are so many artists, it\u2019s not just doing something different, but doing something good<\/em>. You have to be amazing. More than exceptional. People have to recognise you, you have to have a signature where people can see, Oh, this is Recyclemented. It\u2019s good because it challenges us. We like a challenge. It\u2019s on, IKEA!<\/p>\n

\"stacked<\/p>\n

Where do you find the wood you use? This part of Lichtenberg<\/a> seems like it would be a good place to find discarded wood. Do you go on missions to find material?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> Not really. It\u2019s just become a natural part of our day-to-day life. If we see something, we stop and pick it up.<\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> We\u2019ve got a big truck! (Laughs) We do buy some materials though, the products that give the finishing touches and hardware that will make the furniture last longer. We want to provide a high quality piece. The idea is to sell products that are quality \u2014 that\u2019s really important.<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> Like you said, in this area near our studio space, there\u2019s always a lot of scraps and pieces that would go to waste normally. There are a lot of businesses here, a lot of construction areas that produce a lot of waste.<\/p>\n

Would your work have as much personality if you were using wood that was brand new?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> Well, it wouldn\u2019t be the same fun, that\u2019s for sure. It would definitely lose a lot of the personality if we bought the wood. It wouldn\u2019t be Recyclemented.<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> We love this concept, using old to make new. Everything comes from everything, for us. It\u2019s part of the adventure and an important part of the end product. We\u2019ll name the piece after the street corner where we found the palette. (Laughs) You know exactly where it comes from that way. Better than going to IKEA and you have no idea where it comes from.<\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> This was a good initiative for us at the start because we didn\u2019t have money to buy furniture. This was a great way for us to be able to have the things we need and create this new lifestyle for ourselves.<\/p>\n

\"working<\/p>\n

Would you say that Berlin is the right city for this kind of design? Are people responsive to your style?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> This whole \u201cupcycling\u201d trend is going really well in Berlin, so yes, people are very responsive to what we make. People are becoming more and more conscious in a way, of living and of the environment. There\u2019s definitely a market for it. You just need to find your spot there, and have a voice. That\u2019s what we\u2019re working on.<\/p>\n

Was that eco-friendly nature of Recyclemented something that\u2019s always been important to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> In the beginning, it was more important to me than to Clement. I\u2019m the hippie in this relationship! (Laughs) But he\u2019s the one who actually got into the knowledge behind it! Certain palettes for example, are treated with toxins. You know how eggs have a serial number to show which is free-range, which is factory farmed and stuff? It\u2019s the same with palettes, they\u2019re stamped in the same way for which ones are treated and which are not. We need to know this stuff because people put our furniture in their living spaces.<\/p>\n

Wow, I didn\u2019t know that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> You have to be careful, and not everyone is. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a money issue here in Berlin that the eco-friendly thing hasn\u2019t picked up as much, but in Australia, it\u2019s huge already. I think it can only grow from here! We see more and more the effects of what\u2019s happening if we don\u2019t take care of the planet, you know? It sounds cheesy but we have to be behind that if we want to keep this planet together. Small things make a difference!<\/p>\n

\"painting<\/p>\n

Do you worry that furniture from recycled material will go out of style?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> No. It\u2019s still pretty new in Berlin, it\u2019s only starting to become a big trend. I think we\u2019re starting at the right moment. The downside is that because the palettes are becoming trendy\u2026 You\u2019ve seen it in front of caf\u00e9s, they make this simple bench out of bottle crates and a piece of wood, right? They call that recycled or upcycled furniture. And that makes it hard for us, because when people hear about our stuff, they have that pre-existing notion of it as this pile of junk on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> We do use the palette as the first material but, in the end, it doesn\u2019t look like a palette! That\u2019s the whole point!<\/p>\n

\"closeup<\/p>\n

Even with your unique style, would you say there\u2019s a lot of competition? I always see homeware and furniture out at the markets and stuff\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> It depends on what kind of markets you go to. There are the design markets, where the people are coming specifically to buy furniture and big pieces for the home\u2026 But then there\u2019s Mauerpark<\/a> where the tourists go, so they don\u2019t buy furniture, obviously.<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> They just want to have a look and have a stroll on a Sunday, which is nice \u2014 we like to do that too. A lot of people at the markets want to go for a bargain, they want stuff really cheap because they can get it for those prices at Mauer. That\u2019s not such a good location for us.<\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> Five euro for a handmade shelf? (Laughs) Get out!<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> They all want vintage! It\u2019s big in Berlin, so everyone wants the vintage at flea markets like Mauerpark\u2026 We\u2019re not fans of it at all! Sometimes it\u2019s just old junk that\u2019s labelled vintage, and because it\u2019s so trendy, people really look for it at the flea markets. But at the design markets and some of the other pop-ups, people love to pass by our stall and look at the furniture, take photos and stuff.<\/p>\n

\"soldering<\/p>\n

I love going to the markets, but I never buy furniture there because I have no way of getting it home!<\/strong><\/p>\n

JK:<\/strong> Exactly, we get a lot of requests because of that. People who come by bike or on the Bahn, they have no way to transport a table back to their flat.<\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> It\u2019s been a good learning experience. The first markets we did, we brought all the big tables and the big shelves but eventually we started to build a few smaller pieces, accessories, and things like the triangle shelves<\/a> that are easier to transport.<\/p>\n

It seems like this has all been a good learning experience for you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

CJ:<\/strong> Of course. We start from scratch with the wood. No one has taught us these techniques, we learn everything from trying, from doing. There\u2019s a lot of pieces and I\u2019m getting prouder and prouder of what I\u2019m doing. We can see ourselves improving, and that\u2019s a good sign I think.<\/p>\n

Follow Recyclemented on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>, and check out their designs on their website<\/a>.Use the offer code \u201c\u00dcberlin\u201d when you contact them to get 10% off! (offer good through to the end of 2015).<\/em><\/p>\n

\"finished<\/a><\/p>\n

\n