The cocoon jewellery and the mulberry tree stand were designed during a practical lesson under the supervision of prof. Teja Kovač Lozar univ. dipl. inž. arh. as part of a practical lesson on the Design of Useful Objects course at the School of Design in Maribor.
The starting point for the design was the material itself with its properties – silkworm cocoons that invite you to touch them. Their whiteness, soft egg shape and fluffy surface appeal to us. Woven from delicate, fine silk threads, the cocoons are also a solid shell that protects the silkworm pupa inside.
The silkworm itself, which still looks like a large caterpillar, has woven this compact protection around itself with a figure-of-eight movement. All these wonders of nature inspired the students to choose them as the theme for our work, to look at the design of products intended for contact with human skin and hair, and to be inspired by nature itself.
The first phase of the work process was to investigate the cutting of cocoons – which methods and tools are easiest and most efficient to cut, deflate and clean them.
In the second phase, we tested the possibilities of cocoon processing – laser cutting, gluing, painting, accessories for fastening …
Once the students had familiarised themselves with the material and its laws, they set about looking for solutions, designing patterns, making sketches and carrying out the production themselves.
At the same time, another group of students designed a jewellery stand made of mulberry wood. Part of a mulberry boot served as a base for metal rods in the shape of a tree, which were to be used as a jewellery stand.
