Description
Pulp was papier-mâché before OOhh taught it thin walls: the VAKO is a slender, black cylinder with walls barely thicker than heavy cardboard – and yet a vase that holds water.
The natural latex seal inside makes this possible; outside, the matt, hand-shaped paper surface remains. Fresh flowers, dried, artificial – the tall cylinder carries them all.
Made by hand in the fair-trade women's project in Sri Lanka, from one hundred per cent recycled paper.
On the material
Paper pulp: why a vessel made of paper holds water
Paper pulp, usually just called pulp in the trade, is waste paper that has been soaked, broken down into a mash, pressed into a mould and dried. What results looks like clay and weighs a fraction as much.
Sealed on the inside, it even holds water. It is found in vases, bowls, trays and cachepots, and in the German-speaking world hardly anyone explains it. What it can do, how it ages and where its limit lies is set out here.
Related in the Journal
Rooms
How objects work together once they are in place.
All articlesFrom the Journal
Journal
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- Which Colour Goes with Walnut?Walnut is a dark wood with a warm, slightly reddish-brown undertone. It is precisely this undertone that…
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- Choosing a rug: size, material, placementThe most common mistake when buying a rug is the size. A rug that is too small not only looks lost itself,…
- Styling sideboards and shelvesA sideboard is a surface that fills up by itself. Without a plan, after a few weeks it holds post, charging…
- Choosing a sofa: what really mattersA sofa is the most expensive and longest-lasting piece in most living rooms. And it is the one where the…
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- Choosing an armchair: size, material, positionAn armchair is usually bought for its looks and judged by its comfort. The two are less connected than one…
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- How Natural Materials AgeA piece of furniture made of solid wood, leather or stone looks different after five years than on the day…
- Why a Room Feels Restless Even Though Every Piece Is BeautifulThere are rooms in which every single piece is good and yet the room as a whole never feels settled. The rug…
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- Lighting the Living Space: Kelvin, Lumens and Three LevelsLight is the only furnishing decision that changes twice a day. Until the afternoon the window does the…
Origin, Material & Craft
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- Wood moves: why joints shift and boards crackWood is the only material in the living space that keeps moving after it has been worked. It takes up…
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Rooms
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