Product Design Stories, Part 7

Bay Area Made is a community of values-driven makers from around the Bay dedicated to virtues such as craft, quality, good design, innovation, and sustainability. In addition to building community amongst local makers, we’re dedicated to educating and inspiring consumers to support local companies who create quality products that are better for the user, the community, and the planet. From the clothes we wear to the food we eat, to the products we use daily, WHAT WE MAKE locally and HOW WE MAKE IT really does matter.

One of the ways we showcase our community is through our annual exhibition during SF Design Week. This year our exhibition was hosted by Gantri lighting in their beautiful San Francisco SOMA studio. “Bay Area Made: Product Design Stories” featured products from 37 Bay Area Made members, and the stories behind them. The products represented standard, custom, and customized offerings from established and up-and-coming brands spanning home & garden, clothing & accessories, food & beverage, and body & bath, providing a behind the scenes glimpse into who creates the products, and how and why they are made.

In this series we’re featuring select exhibitors and their stories. Here is the seventh installment.

Check out Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 , Part 5 & Part 6 of Product Design Stories.

Gantri

3D printed lighting. Gantri Plant Polymer. 2016-2024

Gantri is an award-winning manufacturer of sustainable, design-forward lighting.

Each unique piece is designed by the next generation of independent creators from around the world and 3D printed in our California factory. Our one-of-a-kind, innovative digital manufacturing process offers exceptional design at accessible prices. And by utilizing proprietary plant polymers derived from renewable sugarcane, every Gantri light reduces CO2 emissions by 75%.

Explore our collection and discover the perfect blend of innovation, sustainability, and style.

Ian Yang, Founder

Farmhouse Lab

CCOF Certified Organic Real Food Dressings and Culinary Salts. 2016 – 2021

Daniela Kratz is the woman behind Farmhouse Lab. Previously working in the corporate world as a sustainability exec, Daniela set out to combine her passion for whole, delicious, natural foods combined with what inspired her most — directly helping individuals make healthier, more locally-driven, and sustainable food choices. Farmhouse Lab is built on the desire to have delicious, clean, and pure pantry items at hand for the health-conscious foodie. The secret of Farmhouse Lab are their playful blends with unique artisanal ingredients to curate outstanding taste. All products are for multi-use and supposed to elevate the value of your food. 

Farmhouse Lab’s CCOF certified organic, 100% vegan Real Food Dressings are made with ingredients carefully selected from artisan producers who share a commitment to sustainability – you can smell and taste the difference in quality.  

All of Farmhouse Lab’s products are gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, dairy-free and made with no garlic. We are proudly handcrafting in small batches in California. Farmhouse Lab is a brand for joyful, sustainable plant-based eating that encourages to make food more often at home again and to share it in community. Their goal is to inspire people to prepare meals with ease and joy. While meal kits, delivery services and ready-made food can help all of us on a busy day, Farmhouse Lab mission is to advocate making your own food and thereby reduce packaging, food waste and our CO2 footprint significantly.

When cooking at home, people also have much more control over ingredients and quantities and thus have a healthier diet. It is a win-win: for the planet and for humans. Farmhouse Lab is using only recyclable and reusable glass bottles and metal tins.

Daniela herself develops all of Farmhouse Lab’s products and blends and carefully sources all the ingredients from artisan producers who share our commitment to sustainability. 

Her social media is a great resource for recipe inspiration – all her food photography is what she makes at home and what she eats with her family and friends using Farmhouse Lab products.

Daniela Kratz, Owner/Founder

J Brody & Co

Walnut Utensils. Black Walnut. 2024

J Brody & Co. was founded to keep traditional craft and natural materials alive. Our founder, Joseph Brody, is a classically trained woodworker based in the San Francisco Bay Area who also makes custom furniture under the name Confluence Furniture Inc. This new line of kitchenware is the result of making a walnut spatula for his wife ten years ago, which she still uses every day. It also springs out of the desire to incorporate the best of his woodworking knowledge in designing and producing the simplest and most useful of items, the wooden spoon.

Joseph Brody, Founder

Clouds + Ladders

Ruth Asawa Collection for de Young Museum. Brass and polymer clay. 2023

The de Young Museum Stores invited craft artisans representing each of the nine Bay Area counties to create exclusive offerings inspired by the de Young Museum’s collection, architecture, or natural environment to accompany their exhibit “Open Call 2023.”

I chose Ruth Asawa’s hanging sculptures in the Education Tower as my inspiration for the collection of handmade jewelry I designed and created in my solar-powered studio in Forestville.

While at first, I was drawn to the artistry of the gravity-defying shapes of Asawa’s work, after reading about her I discovered she possessed an admirable human spirit as well.

From sketches, to 3d printed, to cast in bronze! My original proposal for a jewelry collection included inspiration from the silhouettes as well as looking up close at the knitted wire sculptures. The final collection was made cohesive by focusing solely on the silhouettes and interior shapes.

The colors I used were inspired by plants and flowers, drawn from Asawa’s and my shared love of gardening. I added metallics to the clay to reflect the wire she used to knit her sculptures.       

The Asawa Collection includes four earring styles, two necklaces, and one brooch, and is available exclusively at the de Young Museum Store in San Francisco.

My thanks to the de Young Museum for inviting me to represent Sonoma County for the 2023 Open Call Exhibition. The opportunity to create a collection of jewelry inspired by Ruth Asawa’s work is an honor and dream come true for me.

Kate Joseph, Designer/Maker

Photos by Medium Small

View the Gantri profile

View the Farmhouse Lab profile

View the J Brody & Co profile

View the Clouds + Ladders profile

Filed under: Exhibit, StoriesTagged with: , , , , ,