Taiwanese designers Liang-Jung Chen and Shuei-Yuan Yang have designed a collection of homewares called "The Misused". The design was inspired by how elders in the countryside of Taiwan creatively improvise daily necessities with existing objects. The collection aims to re-fulfill the potentials of everyday metal hardwares by misusing them with a twist of humor.

Design Team

Design by Liang-Jung Chen & Shuei-Yuan Yang

Photography by Liang-Jung Chen

The glass hydroponic vase made with floor drain.

The leather basket made with coil spring.

The marble jewel box made with door hinge.

The notebook made with the grill mesh.

The leather magazine rack made with braided hose.

The rattan stool made with hose clamp.

The plywood bookend made with corner bracket.

The pottery pen holder made with bead chain.

The glass wind chimes made with S-hook.

The table mirror made with magnetic door holder.

Study sketches " While exploring the possibilities of misusing hardwares, we made lots of study sketches to help us re-imagine the relationship between hardwares and other materials. "

As product designers, we always prioritize the logical user experience of a product. Somehow, in countryside Taiwan, we are often awed by how local grandpas and grandmas improvise homewares with existing objects creatively. They motivated us to leave the stereotype of metal hardwares behind and to repurpose them.

Keeping the philosophy of misusing in mind, we paired 11 industrial metal hardwares with different crafted materials. The outcome is a series of homewares repurposing various kinds of metal hardwares, which includes: door holder, floor drain, door hinge, hose clamp, S hook, grill mesh, braided hose, coil spring, bead chain, corner bracket, and steel cable tie.

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