Les Carnets de Mulhouse

  • Virginia de Colombani
The project:

In June 2015, Kingston University, alongside other four European Universities, were invited to participate in Transbazar, a design event organized in the old “industrial capital of Alsace”, Mulhouse. The collaborative partners were invited to take possession of a number of empty shop units and set up live pop-up productions of object-souvenirs, able to reflect Mulhouse’s post-industrial identity, using low cost, locally available materials and involving the local community in the process. “Les Carnets de Mulhouse”, was Kingston University’s contribution.

The notebooks:

“Les Carnets de Mulhouse” is a series of pocket-size notebooks made out of quality-control rejected yarn from Mulhouse’s iconic textile manufacturer, Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie (DMC). This raw material was hand processed and transformed into colourful sheets of paper that were then stitched together using elegant binding. The simplicity of the whole fabrication process allowed visitors to take active part in the fabrication of the carnets as intended in the spirit of the festival. Their handcrafted beauty and meaningful connection to the industrial history of the city gave the carnets a distinctive “souvenir” quality and a real commercial appeal.


My role:

As the project leader employed by the Design Department of the University, I was responsible for helping a group of MA students come up with an engaging idea that responded to the brief. I was tasked with planning, executing and delivering the project to Mulhouse, where it was then exhibited for the duration of 20 days. Additionally, I oversaw the entire production process, facilitated and coordinated the participation of the local community, presented the project to the press and designed the logo and brand identity of the product.