Circular Design HOW TO? session 8: Design for Repair

In this year’s second “How To?” webinar we will take a closer look into how we can help products last longer by finding ways to repair/refurbish and how to design products keeping in mind the circular design. Discussion will be moderated by Maria Kristiin Peterson (Estonian Academy of Art).

Date: Tuesday, September 6th 2022

Time: 3:00 - 4:30 PM (EEST) / 2:00 - 3:30 PM (CEST)

Topic: Design for Repair

Speakers: Eliina Brinkberg (Nudie Jeans Co), Elizabeth Chamberlain (iFixit), Jiří Krejčí (Paranduskelder), moderated by Maria Kristiin Peterson (Estonian Academy of Art)

Language: English

Location: Zoom

Price: FREE but pre-registration is required

To whom: designers and circular economy & sustainability experts, company representatives, product developers and others interested

About the speakers:

Photo: Eliina Brinkberg

With a background in business, environmental science, and global studies Eliina Brinkberg started working at Nudie Jeans in 2013. Since six years back she is working as the Environmental Manager with focus on sustainable raw material use and fabric production, including questions related to chemical and water use, as well as exploring possibilities of closing the loop by reusing and recycling. Eliina is also responsible for Nudie Jeans climate work; mapping all Nudie Jeans emissions and building roadmaps towards the company's emissions reduction targets.

Photo: Elizabeth Chamberlain

Elizabeth Chamberlain is Director of Sustainability at iFixit, the repair website with over 80,000 guides for how to fix everything from your toaster to your tractor. She advocates for repairable design, repair-friendly environmental regulations, and Right to Repair legislation.

Title of the talk: Repairable Design Is Not Rocket Science

Though rocket scientists have embraced some aspects of repairable design, the basic principles couldn’t be simpler: Make cases openable, parts replaceable, and service manuals available. Products designed this way are the bedrock of the circular economy—things can’t be fixed, reused, or refurbished properly otherwise. Still, many manufacturers lock down repair access. In this talk, Elizabeth will share some of what iFixit has learned in nearly 20 years of advocating for repairable electronics design, first screaming into the void but now working closely with tech giants including Google, Microsoft, and Samsung.

On the photo: Jiri Krejci / photo by: Kiur Kaasik

Jiri Krejci is a co-founder of Paranduskelder – community repair space.

Title of the talk: What if everything would be repairable?

Photo: Maria Kristiin Peterson

Maria Kristiin Peterson is a knit designer and a Textile Design Master's student at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Having a previous background as a marketing manager and cultural organizer, her studies and work-related projects over the last five years have created profound experience and in-depth knowledge of circular design in the field of textile and fashion industry. Working in DiMa- a Laboratory of Sustainable Design and Materials at the Estonian Academy of Arts, she leads several local and international projects that focus on making the fashion industry more circular through the mechanical recycling of post-consumer textile waste, the implementation of valuable reuse (upcycling) and the development of sustainable bio-based materials. In her research, she focuses on the development of mechanically recycled yarn from post-consumer textiles collected in Estonia, and the creation of knitwear while analyzing the designer's role in product development processes made from recycled material.

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NB! As it is a fully online event, please be prepared with a smooth Internet connection! The webinar will be recorded.

Previous sessions are available here: https://disainikeskus.ee/how-to-sessions

The event is organized by Estonian Design Centre and held in cooperation with the German Ecodesign Award, EcoDesign Circle project and its partners.