CORE - Is This Trash?

In the first design class I ever took,our teacher stated in his introductory remarks: "after this course, you will never again lay an ashtray on a table in the same way". Since ashtrays were going to be a constant presence in my life, I would never forget that remark. Nonetheless, at that moment I failed to understand what ways were there to lay an ashtray on a table, other than right side up. What the teacher really meant was that we were about to start developing observational skills which would forever change even the simplest of our actions.

Giovanni Pellone is principal of Giovanni Pellone and Bridget Means, an interdisciplinary design studio in New York City.

by Giovanni Pellone
As designers, we are constantly challenged to come up with new ideas, create new experiences, find new ways to do things. Our ability lays in developing a process that generates these new ideas, but maybe more important, in recognizing the ideas hiding in the rough sketches that constantly flow out of our pencil.
If it is true that innovation hides in the obvious, then it is also true that a potential new product is hiding in everything surrounding us. Not only in each doodle, lump of clay or cut up piece of foam core scattered around our studio, but just as well in the lint from our pockets, or the jam on our our toast (especially if accompanied by a good cup of coffee). A new environmentally friendly composite could be hiding in the used tissue we're about to discard.
One day, armed with glue gun, dowels and cardboard, I set myself to generate some ideas for a new project. After several hot glue burns and paper cuts, I ended up with a multitude of funny looking 3D sketches and Spray77 on my sandwich. I stepped back and, ashtray at my side, stared at the results.
The staring took much longer than the cutting and gluing. No matter which way I looked at those sketches, nothing worth an exclamation point seemed to emerge. Meanwhile the floor was covered with trash and pieces of scrap of all shapes and sizes, the remains of my sandwich glued to one of them.
Defeated, I pulled out a trash bag and begun collecting the trash. A large folded piece of cardboard seemed to be worth keeping. I propped it up to support the bag while collecting the last pieces of scrap from the floor. I grabbed the ashtray to empty it and looked at that folded piece of cardboard standing in front of me. A new product was born!

ZagoTM is a folding trash can made from recycled cardboard currently available at The Guggenheim Museum Soho Store:
(212) 423-3875 USA: (800) 329-6109

ZagoTM is manufactured and distributed by Benza, Inc. (212) 677-8913 or benzainc@aol.com

	In the first design class I ever took,our teacher stated in his introductory remarks: "after this course, you will never again lay an ashtray on a table in the same way". Since ashtrays were going to be a constant presence in my life, I would never forget that remark. Nonetheless, at that moment I failed to understand what ways were there to lay an ashtray on a table, other than right side up. What the teacher really meant was that we were about to start developing observational skills which would forever change even the simplest of our actions.

`Giovanni Pellone is principal of Giovanni Pellone and Bridget Means, an interdisciplinary design studio in New York City.`	`by Giovanni Pellone` As designers, we are constantly challenged to come up with new ideas, create new experiences, find new ways to do things. Our ability lays in developing a process that generates these new ideas, but maybe more important, in recognizing the ideas hiding in the rough sketches that constantly flow out of our pencil. If it is true that innovation hides in the obvious, then it is also true that a potential new product is hiding in everything surrounding us. Not only in each doodle, lump of clay or cut up piece of foam core scattered around our studio, but just as well in the lint from our pockets, or the jam on our our toast (especially if accompanied by a good cup of coffee). A new environmentally friendly composite could be hiding in the used tissue we're about to discard. One day, armed with glue gun, dowels and cardboard, I set myself to generate some ideas for a new project. After several hot glue burns and paper cuts, I ended up with a multitude of funny looking 3D sketches and Spray77 on my sandwich. I stepped back and, ashtray at my side, stared at the results. The staring took much longer than the cutting and gluing. No matter which way I looked at those sketches, nothing worth an exclamation point seemed to emerge. Meanwhile the floor was covered with trash and pieces of scrap of all shapes and sizes, the remains of my sandwich glued to one of them. Defeated, I pulled out a trash bag and begun collecting the trash. A large folded piece of cardboard seemed to be worth keeping. I propped it up to support the bag while collecting the last pieces of scrap from the floor. I grabbed the ashtray to empty it and looked at that folded piece of cardboard standing in front of me. A new product was born!
	`ZagoTM is a folding trash can made from recycled cardboard currently available at The Guggenheim Museum Soho Store:` `(212) 423-3875 USA: (800) 329-6109`

	`ZagoTM is manufactured and distributed by Benza, Inc. (212) 677-8913 or benzainc@aol.com`