Shengji Ji

Ji is an enthusiastic designer who has studied design in both China and Finland. She moved to London after graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Product Design in order to find more possibilities for herself.

She believes that design can not only address the obvious, but also touch and heal people's hearts. She has a passion for observing and reflecting on the sources of pleasure in herself and others, as well as a desire to recreate this joy through the interaction of materials and people.

Milan Design Week, Support Systems, 2022

Work in Progress Show, Royal College of Art, 2022

RCA CHS Dissertation, Do child-like things miss elegance?: A critical analysis of the Neotenic Design (2021)

WHAT

GUTTA are one-off furnitures made from recycled mattresses. It consists of a two-part structure with a soft and comfortable top made of foam-covered springs fixed to a firm body bound by a number of mattress covers. Both strength and softness are highlighted, creating a flexible modular furniture. GUTTA can sit, hug, lean and play.

WHY&HOW

In London, discarded mattresses are a common bulky waste that is abundant and extremely expensive to recycle. GUTTA dismantles discarded mattresses, disinfects them with disinfectant spray, washes them, and then tries several new processes to turn an old mattress into adorable products.

NAME

GUTTA comes from a natural flexible chain polymer called gutta-percha. It can be converted between soft and firm and is extremely malleable; these soft pieces made from mattress materials have similar fascinating characteristics.

Why Mattress – Mattresses are a very expensive bulky waste because their recycling requires a lot of human resources, transportation costs and land space. According to a recent RSA report, a large number of discarded mattresses are produced each year in the UK. However, the recycling rate is very low, so what can be done to make recycling easier in our communities? How can we repurpose old mattresses to provide more environmental and economic benefits? These are the issues I'd like to discuss in this project.