Last weekend, my husband and I went to Costco. A routine event approached with no expectation that anything remarkable would happen. Good thing I’m curious, I would have missed the artist/inventor Joe Manus. That would have been my loss.
Joe is a self-taught designer, a man more joyously resourceful than anyone in recent memory. He takes objects that others see as disposable, as waste and with a fine eye for the possible, creates beautiful and useful objects. Like beds that rock. Think large cradle. I was enchanted.
Since sustainability is now cool, you may be wondering what the big deal is. Here’s the big deal. Joe isn’t rescuing objects for the sake of rescuing them, he’s making great stuff and using materials that are interesting, available and often inexpensive. But he does this to make his remarkable designs manifest. The objects serve his vision. He may be inspired by objects but his innovative designs aren’t limited by that. Indeed, they are limitless.
Joe is a terrific example of avoiding “bounded reality” a concept I’ve discussed here in a video blog. http://www.constancedierickx.com/resources/invisible-decision-traps-video-series/#mDWdYvw8CNg
Check out Joe’s company and the beautiful, remarkable things he designs. www.shinerinternational.com
