● PARRISH ANDRÉ● ABOUT● MORE

● WOOL LUNCHBOX CONCEPT

Exploring the limits of material applications. 


The properties of wool are extensive and powerful. In the age of synthetics, this felted wool lunchbox challenges the limits of material applications.

 












































● WHY WOOL

Wool embodies the human capacity for selective breeding, craftsmanship, and survival, dating back to the Fertile Crescent. Over generations, this fiber has been honed provide a unique and powerful set of properties. Historically, it has been utilized for everything from homes to food storage. However, the modern economy has a predilection for synthetics, and the wool industry is struggling.

I believe it is designers’ responsibility to advance the commercial application of wool for the sake of product quality, American industry, and human history.


My passion for wool began when I wet-felted slippers in 2020. Impressed by their durability and warmth, I began learning about wool’s natural ability to regulate temperature, wick moisture, and resist odors. These properties struck me as ideal for food storage.






● FORM














I was sure I wanted the lunchbox to be wet felted. Synthetic fibers almost never have the staple length to be wet-felted and therefore cannot achieve the range of organic, three-dimensional shapes that wool can.

Employing a form giving technique that was unique to wool bolsters the conversation about wool’s unique functional properties. 











The goal was to create a form that was unusual enough to spark conversation but retained functionality.










● FINAL DEISGN  


The final design uses a cord lock to fasten down a wool flap, encasing your food completely in a dense wool egg. The cord also enables it to be clipped or hung.






PUSHBACK 



This project recieved a fair amount of pushback. People were concerned about the durability and cleanliness of the product. Both of those I would argue against, but the resistance is telling. People are confused and uncomfortable with raw fibers. They seem unfinished and unprotected to the modern consumer. However, wool felt is durable, antimicrobial, insulating, and capable of standing on its own where synthetic alternatives can not. Ultimately, this object served its purpose and began conversations about the environmental, economic and functional factors of a fiber that humanity was built upon.