For !ssue 1, we collaborated with .bungkus, a practice that has dedicated itself to exploring the potential of post-consumer soft plastics. Materials that are typically difficult to recycle and frequently overlooked within conventional waste streams are collected, sorted, processed, and transformed into new surfaces and objects. Through this process, plastic is not hidden or disguised. Instead, its textures, colours, and histories become visible, revealing a material language that is both familiar and entirely new.
What interests us is not simply the act of recycling, but the shift in perception that occurs when waste is reconsidered through the lens of design. A discarded plastic bag is rarely seen as valuable. Yet when reimagined through thoughtful craftsmanship and design, it invites us to question the assumptions we hold about materials, consumption, and permanence.
In many ways, plastic serves as a mirror for contemporary culture. It reflects our desire for convenience, our patterns of consumption, and the unintended consequences that follow. By working with plastic first, we hope to begin a broader conversation about responsibility, value, and the possibilities that emerge when materials are given a second life.
This issue marks the beginning of an ongoing exploration. Future editions of !ssue will investigate other overlooked material streams, from mycelium and food waste to textile offcuts and agricultural by-products. Each material presents its own challenges, opportunities, and narratives. Together, they form a growing archive of alternative futures—one that asks not only what materials are made from, but how they shape the way we live.
At its core, !ssue is less interested in waste as a category and more interested in transformation. Plastic simply happens to be where the conversation begins.
