‘Samsara’ is a start-up that designs and manufactures furniture and abstract décor items using recycled plastic. Set up by two Chennai-based architects, Pradyumna Roa and MridhulaChadramohan, the organization is dedicated to sustainable living.
“As the saying goes, sometimes you have to fight fire with fire, and we felt that reusing discarded plastic to create products with utilitarian and aesthetic value would be a great idea,” says Pradyumna. “And that’s where the journey of Samsara began”.
“As millennials, we like surrounding ourselves with aesthetically appealing yet functional objects and spaces. As designers, we work towards making creative and innovative products that people would love to use. And as environmentally conscious individuals, we care about the impact the things we buy and use have on our planet”, he explains.
While trying to find a way to transform waste plastic, the two architects came across Precious Plastic, a project trying to boost plastic recycling worldwide by providing tools and open sourceknowledge. This helped them set up Samsara.
Pradyumna worked with Precious Plastic in the Netherlands for three months, and he and his team exhibited two of their furniture prototypes made with 7-8 kgs of plastics at the Dutch Design Week 2019. He had the opportunity to interact with around 50 people from different parts of the world who had come as volunteers to find and improve ways to tackle plastic pollution.
“Sustainability, we believe, is the result of living a conscious lifestyle in which we know and understand the impact our choices have on this planet. As designers, it is important that we strive for a better future and bridge the gap through knowledge and better understanding”, Pradyumna concludes.
Keychains, pen-holders, tables, chairs, baskets, bowls and wall hangingsare among Samsara’s products created out of plastic waste.
