This next upcycle design should be interesting to a lot of people. Not only watch-fans but also people who are concerned about the amount of stuff that gets thrown away every day. Especially objects that are used every day and end up on our streets and in the park. The design is called ‘CAN-WATCH‘.
The beauty of the mundane turns into a designer watch
The watch is a design by Alchemist Creations, founded by 3 young designers in 2012 with the motto ‘Turn Neglect Into Shine’. “We believe in discovering the beauty of the mundane and turn them into elegant goods.”
In 2012, they encountered sheltered workshops and found their members are highly skilled. “Our society has not given them a chance to practice. Seeing this opportunity, we founded Alchemist Creations, a company that would nurture their potentials and raises their confidence. We think from the basic and design from the basic. We take the readily available materials and we maximize the possibilities.”
They partnered with ‘Christian Family Service Centre‘ in Hong Kong, a local sheltered workshop and teamed up with the members and got befriended. “Their passion and hard work reflect in every product that they made. This relationship has never been found in modern production lines.”
The CAN-WATCH series by Alchemist Creations was created from the bottom of an ordinary soda can and equipped with a genuine leather band made from handbag or sofa factory’s genuine leather remnant. This upcycle design turns waste material into fashion accessories.
Moreover, they have led to the set up of a production line, which creates job opportunity for workers at sheltered workshops in Hong Kong. “We place importance on the design system. We design and arrange an appropriate manufacturing process with members and tutors from workshops. Through the hand-making of CAN-WATCH, we hope customers would appreciate members’ sophisticated workmanship.”
Photos © Alchemist Creations
With the elegant and fashionable CAN-WATCH series, they have made their mark in the international arena by winning ‘Red Dot Design Award, Best of the Best 2013‘ in Germany – watch and jewelry category.
As a watch-fan myself I really like this idea of turning a soda can into a designer watch. And I do think it’s an eye catcher and looks so cool. Only thing is people might find this watch too big and I wonder how sturdy the watch is.
Next, to the CAN-WATCH series, there are two other CAN series. First, there’s the ‘CAN-WEAR’ series, a new interpretation to smart casual accessories that match the CAN WATCH Series.” Second, there’s ‘CAN-CARRY‘ series, a fashionable hand-made product series featuring the metal cans as design elements.
