This is the first of our monthly studio notes: behind-the-scenes thoughts, updates from the ground, and reflections on creating in ways that are not just more ecological, but more alive. Over time, you’ll also find stories of the people, materials, and moments shaping a richer, more considered way of living and making.
Hi everyone, Tz here, founder of WASTD. If you’re reading this, welcome to our corner of the internet. It’s nice to have you here 👋🏽
I’ve been meaning to start this for a while now: a space to share more regularly, more candidly, about how things are going behind the scenes. What we’re working on, what we’re learning, what’s exciting, what’s challenging. And hopefully, how more people can get involved.
Running WASTD as a solo designer and founder means juggling a lot at once. Things move fast, and sometimes the quieter things, like writing this, take a backseat. But I’ve also realised how easy it is to get buried in the work, and I want to create more space to reflect and document, not just for myself, but to bring others along.
WASTD was born, to be honest, out of a sense of responsibility. My background is in material and textile design, and I’ve worked across the supply chain, from luxury and couture houses in Europe to more mass-market brands closer to home. When you’ve been in those spaces, the concept of waste isn’t abstract: it’s physical, and it’s everywhere.
I’ll never forget my first day at a job with a certain then very-famous luxury brand (they were at the height of their hype). My boss pointed to a cupboard filled with exotic leather bags: fully stitched, perfectly made and... told me to destroy them all. These were samples made for internal reference, and they couldn’t risk them ending up out in the world. That moment has since been eternally seared in my mind.
So WASTD really began from two questions.
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First, how can we create in ways that are not only more ecological, but also more alive — sensorial, rich, and imaginative? Something that doesn’t sit in the extremes of art-world activism or cold transactional business, but feels like a living, breathing alternative to both. Because I still believe that the act of making is something deeply human.
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And second, how can we reconnect people to their everyday lives? Especially in a world where we’ve grown so desensitised to the materials and rituals that surround us.
Have I figured it all out? Absolutely not. I think our material work speaks more clearly to the first question. The second is something we’re still exploring through small objects, workshops, and experiments. No full answers yet, but hopefully some good ideas in time.
These studio notes will be a monthly-ish check-in: part update, part open notebook. Expect a mix of experiments in making more ecologically, and the occasional deep dive into a project or material.
To start, I’d love to know: what do you want to see more of? Drop me a note at tz@wastd.world or DM us on Instagram. I read every message.
x
Tz
