Nothing can preserve special moments in our lifetime better than pieces of art. Common Works, a design studio based in London, is helping people take snapshots of themselves, and then turning these snapshots into unique pieces of pottery.
The London-based company is transforming the art of pottery by incorporating it into the current digital age. Common Works is giving back an artisan the power to customize with its new technological platform, Miko. The platform enables users to create unique imprints on many items such as bowls and vases.
You are invited to give a recording of your specific bodily movements or your voice, and then Miko will transfer the kinetic and vocal movements into a digitized platform. Using a web browser, you can make and transfer a wonderful imprint into a beautifully handcrafted ceramic.
The process allows consumers and artists to maintain the freedom of creativity, all while ensuring that the product is unique. The company is taking advantage of today's emerging technology in creating unique and unconventional results.
As for the process, once the bodily or vocal movements are translated into special ceramic imprints, trained ceramic artists will create the products by hand.
Common Work's technology is exciting to play with.
You get to choose a specific starter piece which you can alter by giving a recording of your voice. You can also connect your phone and move it around. To ensure precision, a special machine will be used to cut the molds, which means you will be able to get your own uniquely designed vases.
Common Works was founded in 2013 as a platform where the founders, Chris Waggott, Jonny Garrill, and Sam Tripp, experimented across the fields that they belong to.
The design studio has developed a practice that focuses on interactive work, art direction, emerging technologies, and moving images.
The people behind Common Works explore how all the disciplines mentioned intersect in order to create unexpected, unconventional results. Common Works has already worked with ASOS, Tesco, Atlantic Records, Transgressive Records, and Lucozade.
They work closely with brands and clients in developing richer outcomes and establishing intriguing exploration areas. The core principle of Common Works is to create lasting and meaningful experiences through rigorous design thinking and playful interactions.
On the other hand, two Dutch artists: Olivier van Herpt, an industrial engineer, and Ricky van Broekhven, an established spacial sound designer, collaborated to create "Solid Vibration." Their products, clay sculptures, have unique textures which represent the vibrations of real sound waves. The products of the two can also encapsulate a moment of your choosing forever through the 3D printed clay sculptures.
Van Herpt and van Broekhven have only used abstract sounds until now but there’s no reason that this could not be extended in creating physical representations of our favorite songs or perhaps our wedding vows. With today's technological advancements, anything is possible - even turning voice recordings into physical objects.
