Start date: September 2008

The latest: (December 1, 2008) Four main concepts for textile products have been developed, and are being prototyped at the Los Angeles Chapter’s weekly meetings. All of them are wearable garments that can be used as something else - the Hood Bag, Sandal Rug, Hammock Wrap, and Pocket Scarf. The focus remains on functional objects that can be used both by the people who make them and a retail market. The chapter continues to explore how the construction might be simplified and optimized to incorporate desirable skills such as sewing, weaving, knitting, and crocheting.

(November 19, 2008) The Los Angeles chapter is meeting weekly with the women of the Downtown Women’s Shelter to finalize prototypes for the textile-based products.

Design Team: Los Angeles Chapter

Contact: Kim Karlsrud, kim (at) projecthdesign (dot) com

Project Partner: Downtown Women’s Center, Los Angeles

Project Principles:

Abject Object focuses on assisting the Los Angeles homeless in finding healthy, creative, and educational ways to move towards self sufficiency. Working directly with Los Angeles’ Downtown Women’s Center, and members of the homeless community who aim to improve their situation, the Los Angeles Chapter design team will collaboratively develop and produce functionally simple, easily made objects from inexpensive, recycled or readily accessible materials.

Moving from a “hand out” to a “hands on” model of rehabilitation that can easily be adopted by other organizations, the project offers opportunities for the homeless to acquire lasting skills, positive leadership experience, and prospects for self-sustaining economic growth by selling products back to local communities.

Phase I:

* Design, develop, and produce functional, easily made objects out of simple, inexpensive, and easy to find materials.
* Designs will be developed and produced by the homeless who are currently working with local non-profits to improve their situation.
* The finished objects will then be showcased and sold in local stores – fund raiser/event

Phase II

* To take what we learned in phase 1 to develop a sustainable and easily adoptable model that existing non-profits and organizations can implement.

Milestones:

Septeber 2008- Project Start Date, solidified partnership with Downtown Women’s Center, material research

October 2008- Team assembles research and inspiration for product designs.

October 26, 2008- Brainstorming session 1, looking at PET plastics, bottles, plastic bags, etc

November 9, 2008- Design session 1 with Downtown Women’s Center team members, textile explorations

November 16, 2008- Design session 2 with Downtown Women’s Center team members, textile product development

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Images: (See all images in the Abject Object project’s Flickr album here)

Sandal Rug

Hammock Wrap

(More images via Flickr here)