DesignWITH is a fluid collective of designers making connections to solve problems. The straight line is the problem we are addressing in this exhibit. The straight line of insistent capital growth, narrow linear thinking and the constantly new. ‘Circular Over Linear’.

Circular design bends the straight lines to create circles of ideas that change the way we think about where our things come from and where they end up. Materials, dyes and buttons that make up our goods, end up somewhere; but so do labour, money and connections. This exhibition is a collection of soft goods from conversations about working, living and continuing in a world that can be sustainably livable.

Our collectively made quilt is a unity of memories of the natural landscape. Woven by hands under the global organic textile standard, dyed by circular design students at OCAD University, using natural dyes and sewn into one big spectrum of colours.

Deanna Badi’s cotton puffer functions the way a nylon one does, except it’s biodegradable. It’s constructed with a tightly woven cotton fabric that swells when in contact with water, sprayed using a natural wax-based water repellent and garment dyed with lake pigment.

Eske Schiralli’s ‘JeanJean’ is a starting point for questions: How can everyday objects fit within a circular economy? What are the points of resistance we face as consumers within a circular economy? This is work that focuses on the making of new products from old products and design as a tool for implementing change.

Finally, our collective’s terrarium demonstrates the possibilities of using post-consumer fashion waste as nutrients for plants.

‘Circular Over Linear’ is a meditation on what is possible if we think about the whole cycle before we start. If we are thoughtful, can we sustain?