Dominika Opalena

Dominika is a London based creative and designer, with a background in Art Direction and Set Design for fashion. She moved to the UK 8 years ago to pursue a bachelors degree at University of the Arts, London.

After some time working in the fashion industry she enrolled at the RCA in pursuit of challenging her own practice, to design beyond aesthetics, consumerist propagation of hype and instant gratification.

Exhibitions

Stroud Brew Pulp @ Support Systems, Milan Design Week 2022

Funeral Directors @ New Contracts, London Design Festival 2021

Folk Blueprint @ CHARAKTER, Bratislava Design Week 2021

Design for need, education and community. Create new systems, which question and liberate design from the constraints of its professional role.

‘Stroud Brew Pulp’ is a material outcome of investigating hyper-local waste at Stroud, Gloucestershire, it’s potential as a bio-material and it’s possible applications. By identifying local companies which are willing to experiment, through cooperation the project is able to act as an exemplar hyper-local ‘recipe’ and provide a unique case study, contributing to the dialogue of tackling issues of sustainability.

Medium:

Biomaterial

Stroud Brewery, local organic beer brewers

Flaxland, an educational flax farm

The material ‘recipe’ combines the natural waste of two companies in very close proximity. To help identify a hyperlocal application, the designer chose to engage the local community with the material by designing moulds and objects for an educational biomaterial workshop.

Bowls pressed by workshop participants – Modular 3D printed bowl moulds allow participants to have a degree of input in the design process.

The ping pong bat mould produces an object for playful interaction and further engagement of the participant with the bio-material. Perhaps the rules of ping ping change here, how much can you score before your ping pong bat breaks?

Game of skittles – Another proposed playful interaction with this biomaterial is a traditional British game of skittles.

By adding these extra steps in the lifecycle of the natural materials, the designer is able to produce a dialogue within the local community without breaking the circularity.