We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Beck a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rachel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

I have two answers to that question, yes…and no.

Yes, because if you think about the majority of well-designed products (or any product in general) out on the market, most of them go for either high-quality materials and/or materials that are most cost-effective to hit their margins. In design, the first 80% of the product is designed within the first stage, where sustainable materials should be part of the conversation. This isn’t the priority in most cases, it’s usually profit over people. Years ago, when I worked as a furniture designer (for a corporate company), materials used had to be the most cost-effective so that their margin of 60% was still feasible! There was no thought to toxic off-gassing, paint and finish VOC’s, etc. This is the main reason for why I started Newd Elements. I wanted to provide non-toxic modern home and lifestyle good alternatives to the massively over-produced conventional products out there. Within the Newd Elements brand, almost every material used in our products is diverted, reclaimed, organic and as non-toxics as possible (meaning low or no VOC’s or GreenGuard certified).

I’m excited to say no, as well. Because what Newd Elements is doing is also BECOMING the industry standard. I see more and more [small] brands emerging with products made of hemp, linen, bio-based plastics, reclaimed and recycled materials, etc. It’s exciting to see these businesses are causing big-box brands rethink their efforts and product offerings.

My hopes is that the industry standard comes to a point where the consumer is automatically choosing products that cause minimal harm to the planet. Because as humans, we are the only species that creates product that doesn’t naturally return to the soil without damaging it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an artist at heart and an Industrial Designer by trade. Before Newd Elements was born, most of the reclaimed or recycled furniture, bags, etc I came across were very crafty in aesthetics. With an affinity for clean lines and purposeful design, I envisioned creating home and lifestyle items encompassing just this. To start, my desire was to design a product that stood out, artfully. I was at an age where wine was entering my taste palette…and I saw cork stoppers being discarded at restaurants, wineries, and the home. I began digging into the amazingness of cork and I [obviously] found, amazingness. Cork is water-resistant (thus why they use for wine and champagne) and flame retardant. So, of course, with this information, the next step was to prototype. I played around a little with flat shapes at first, but wasn’t completely satisfied with the outcome. After a few days of sketching (and one night’s vivid dream), the planter came to fruition. You’ll now find a variety of shapes of our cork vessels and planters.

But I didn’t want to stop there; I found statistic after statistic of wasted materials entering the landfills each day. Why weren’t we making use of these? They still had so much life left in them, especially if they were barley touched or unused. Enter, our soft goods. From serviettes and tea towels, to dopp kits and daypacks, all made from textiles headed for the landfill.

With my passion for transcending waste and creating anew, each product is designed for people and the planet.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part is being able to tell the sustainability narrative in a visual and functional way. Not only has it been fun to creating with my hands, but knowing these [environmentally-friendly] works of art are sitting happily in people’s home or with them are their wanderlust adventures.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Always yes. Despite the fact that Newd Elements sells products, the ultimate mission is to spark interest in the community towards the sustainability realm. Whether our products are purchased or not, it’s great to see those near or far feeling motivated to walk to the store instead of drive, or is encouraged to visit that bulk store nearby they haven’t yet, or invigorates them to start their own business to provide a sustainable solution to everyday life. This goal pushes me to explore new shapes and materials whenever I can.

Contact Info:

• Website: shopnewd.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/newdelements
• Facebook: facebook.com/newdelements
• Twitter: twitter.com/newdelements

Image Credits
Matthew Stacey