Meet the Designers behind "Renew Me"

Renew me is our 6th Annual NY Design Week Show About Sustainability.
Can you believe this is our 6th show!?!! Founder Krystal Persaud was inspired to start the Grouphug Collective in the spring of 2013. When New York Design Week came around, she remembers going to a handful of events and feeling underwhelmed. It was embarrassing to see shows that had not evolved past high-end furniture or lighting. Yes, we know that ICFF is a Design Week staple, but there are over 40,000 industrial designers in America â whatâs everybody making? It canât all be chairs and lamps.
Our annual shows push New York Design Week into the future of design. We believe design week shows should be on the cutting edge, thought provoking, and forward-looking. You can read more about our origin here if it suits your fancy.
When we posted the call for entries for Renew Me, we were looking for designers who challenge the status quo and want to make a positive impact with their work. From product design to fashion design to architectural concepts - we were blown away by the quality of submissions this year. Mark your calendars for May 10-12, you are not going to want to miss this exhibition.
The cohort of âRenew Meâ designers is OUT OF THIS WORLD.
But enough from us, check out the talented crop of designers below & the projects they are working on.
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 Ari ElefterinÂ
Ari is working on a project called âEmbodied Waterâ, a didactic product line that proposes a future where products simultaneously teach and conserve.
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 Charlie PadghamÂ
Charlie is working on âDoroâ, beautiful wearable objects with seeds in their core for community to plant.
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 Cassidy LavineÂ
Cassidy is developing âTiltâ, a sustainable indoor farming system for beginners.
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 Christina LaFontaine & Rosalind ParadisÂ
Christina & Roz are exploring the question âwhat if we could harvest energy from storms caused by climate change?â. They are creating âUnharnessablesâ, a kinetic sculpture that creates twisting torsional energy and when activated represents a fraction of the energy in a storm system.
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 Dalia AhmedÂ
Dalia is creating a grow light system for plants in small, urban settings. It will be designed specifically for beginners who have no experience with gardening.
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 Orange Sparkle BallÂ
Meaghan Kennedy, Diego Perez, & Ashley Touchton of Orange Sparkle Ball are working on a concept called âSteam Stack Energyâ. When considering everyday un-harvested energy, they were drawn to the idea of New York City steam stacks. What if this release of steam could generate power for the city? What if the New York steam distribution system, the largest steam system in the world, could harvest energy from steam running through the pipes to be re-used for the plant itself? They are creating an interactive installation involving a functioning rotor prototype.
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 Hailey WhiteÂ
Hailey is developing âLIVâ, an affordable, self sufficient home. Her design includes prefabricated houses that fit within the footprint of a used shipping container that can be easily customized and transported.
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 Hirumi NanayakkaraÂ
Hirumi is creating âSci Fi Algae Clothingâ. Sheâs integrating algae bioreactors with clothing to harvest energy.
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 Jackson FordhamÂ
Jackson has created âSafeTechâ, a wearable jacket that includes tools and features to help the user in the event of a flood or related emergency like hurricanes.
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 Ke HuÂ
Ke is creating âArayâ, a transparent solar panel that attaches to the inside of your window to power devices in your home.
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 Luz Cabrera & Nahin ShahÂ
Luz & Nahin are developing near-future product concept that is essential in an apocalyptic climate. They are also developing characters and a backstory that explains the world this product exists in.
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 Nate SotoÂ
Nate is working on a project called â21XXâ, a series of advertisements for future products during dystopian future.
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 Oscar Salguero & Goeun ChoiÂ
Oscar & Goeun are working on a project called âShy Floraâ, speculative energy-generating explorations of a future woman called Gaia.
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 Sky WhiteÂ
Sky believes that graphic design & branding are too often used to coerce people into purchasing goods for the sake of self-fulfillment. For Renew Me, he is using those same visual tactics to offer critical perspective on emerging virtual tech. He is creating an retail product display for the satirical VR company called Happy Fool Fun Co.
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 Tim Ronco & Joonas KyöstilĂ€Â
Tim & Joonas founded Mooki Meelo, a creative sustainable furniture company. They are exhibiting the Posse chair, which is made of 100% paper pulp, a natural material that's biodegradable and sustainable. Soft and lightweight, paper pulp is perfectly suited for children.
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 Tan TranÂ
Tan is designing a âCalisthenic Energy Harvesterâ. His goal is to create a prototype of exercise equipment that educates & makes you a user feel how much energy it takes to generate electricity.
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Plus:
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Christina Mayo is developing a project called âLiving Labâ, a educational house model that will inspire you to transform your home to be more sustainable one room at a time.
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Natalia Szabla & Fabio Castellanos are creating a Plastic Recycling Tool. The tool is a simple-to-use mold that allows your to take what ever plastic scraps you find and reclaim them.
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Joe Gelber & Sid Sugathan are creating âEye Canâ, a smart trash can that helps users reduce & sort waste.