Vàs is a new breed of vertical wall planter, designed to be fun, decorative and eco-friendly. Initially a response to a school assignment, Vàs has evolved to fuel our underlying mission: bringing the joy of gardening to even the smallest of spaces.

Design Team

Created by three Virginia Tech Industrial Design students, hoping to push their product from concept to market.

Morgan Matt, Designer

Mitchell Harris, Designer

Brian Pughe, Designer

Klint Ciriaco, Videographer

Casey Phillips, Photographer

Scott Munsey, Sales Rep. & Manufacturing at Cardinal Rubber & Seal, Inc.

Taking Root

In the start of our spring semester at Virginia Tech in 2015, the three of us came together with a common interest in pursuing more sustainable design. Within one of our elective courses in the school of Architecture, we were assigned a three-week project with a rather open-ended prompt: to create some type of modular installation.

Unlike most group-assigned projects, we were an easy pairing of partners for the project: all somewhat quirky with a love for the outdoors and our local community.

While exploring our own backyard—among the Blue Ridge Mountains—we found our source of inspiration: Blacksburg's local farmer's market. Here, locally grown crops, herbs and succulents of every kind were being sold, while drawing our local community together to shop and enjoy green life.

Seeing this "backyard, home-grown" approach, we were inspired to find a way of bringing plant life to homes of all shapes and sizes, closing the gap even further.

As students living in small dorms and apartments, we were particularly fond of design for restricted spaces. We thought: "Why should gardening be limited by square footage?" Thus, we set out full-force to find a design solution.

Growing our Concept

We wanted a product that had little to no footprint. Based on our core values as a group, we challenged our design further, aiming to make it eco-friendly and flat-packed without compromising visual interest.

In the weeks that followed we sketched and prototyped modular planters—meshing the idea of indoor greenery with a visually interesting, modern wall piece. With direction from Interior Design Professor, Helene Renard, our attention turned to felt—a traditional material regaining recognition as a powerhouse textile.

A refined form of the planter came to life as we lasercut, ironed and notched our product together. By the end of the assignment, the three of us had created a design that was sustainable, recycled and aesthetically pleasing. Unlike the felt planters that we had seen on the market, our design featured modularity, adaptability, storage space and a unique aesthetic.

With positive feedback from our peers, several offers for purchase and a sincere love for our product, the three of us made a pact to push our studio project further and became determined to bring it to market.

In the past several months we have been working hard to bring Vàs to the next level and to get it ready for manufacturing.

We went through a lot of trial and error to find the perfect type of felt for our Vàs planters. It had to have the right blend percentages, moisture properties, density and thickness. Turns out, the exact type of felt we were looking for would be nearly impossible to find.

We tried to source through several manufacturers' clients, made around three dozen phone calls to textile stores, messaged online felt groups and grew a few premature grey hairs along the way. There was never a moment of time that we were willing to settle for a different quality of felt.We eventually found what we were looking for; sourcing from two different, small New York textile stores.

The next step, finding a manufacturer, didn't prove much easier. We knew we wanted it to be local, but because felt is such a unique material, finding the people with the right equipment and experience was tough. Although we've made a lot of financial sacrifices, at the end of the day, we feel that there was no better way than to manufacture Vàs locally and sustainably.

Our manufacturer, Cardinal Rubber, is located in Roanoke, VA—only 45 minutes from our design space in Blacksburg, VA! As a team, we aim to create all-around eco-friendly products. By ordering our materials and manufacturing within the United States, not only do we decrease our carbon footprint, but we support jobs in our own backyard!

Product Features

The product itself is easy to package, assemble and hang. Vàs is designed to be flat packed, thus minimizing our carbon footprint. It's also easy to ship or to pack up if you're a person continuously moving.

Our selected felt has some great moisture properties too. It's dense but porous, like a ceramic pot, allowing air and moisture to move freely in and out of the soil without anything leaking. Unlike ceramic, however, it will never crack or shatter into sharp pieces.

Although felt does a great job containing water, we've created inserts from recycled painters tarp, to ensure a 100% leak-proof product. Not only do they prevent the possibility of dripping further, but they make planting a breeze. If you're planting indoors: hold the insert over the sink, fill with soil and plants, and place it right into your Vàs planter.

Every corner contains a grommet, making it easy to hammer a nail through. You can choose how you want to hang your own Vàs, though: use nails, tacks for an office cubicle, or command strips for a clean setup.

Where We are Now

Starting August 18th, our Kickstarter campaign went live. In our first 24 hours, we raised over two thousand dollars and we're hoping the momentum continues, although we're nervously biting our nails. Three different design options are available:

-a single 8" triangle - perfect for herbs, seedlings and succulents.

- a single 10" triangle - perfect for slightly larger, potted plants

- a full module - perfect as a decorative wall piece

All products are available in charcoal with a choice of burnt orange or ivory accents.

In Summary

As a team, we envision Vàs planters in several different settings:

It could liven up your living room, spice up a boring cubicle, or serve as a great learning tool in any school environment.

Whether you want to cook with fresh herbs growing within reach of your cutting board or simply add more green to your life, Vàs brings the joy of gardening to even the smallest of spaces.

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