Words by Amelia Gregory
Burniture is a new collective of creatives determined to change the furniture industry for good by prioritising sustainability and mental health.
Fast fashion is a phrase I hear pretty much on the daily – but ‘fast furniture’ not so much. Until I met with Georgia from Burniture, that is. Given the explosion in demand for more sustainable and generally green products, the lack of awareness surrounding fast furniture is a little baffling. Of course, the industry exists – but have you really ever heard anyone talk about it? In a way, the world of furniture and interior design is no different to that of fashion; a few years ago, it was the idolisation of minimalism, a trend so extreme that Kim Kardashian refused to have a basin in her sink. Now, it’s mid-century modern living that’s taking the throne. And as is true of all trends, people follow when they change, resulting in two things: people disposing of belongings with a lot of life left in them, and companies responding to trend changes by making things that never last. So what becomes of furniture past?
That’s where Burniture comes in. The collective takes in old furniture in need of a little love and care, re-purposing them and creating unique pieces aptly named “functional art”. I sat down with their founder, Georgia, to find out a little bit more about the collective and her thoughts on the fast furniture industry.
“All of our pieces are usable, you can sit in, cut on, place things in, but also they all look like they could belong in an exhibition. We have, for example, a rocking chair made out of two deck chairs, a chef’s cutting table from an artist’s easel, and outdoor benches from church pews. So all quirky things that you can see just by looking that they have a story. In fact, the story part is so central to it that each piece comes with a little booklet all about the process, how we repurposed it and now pass it on to a new home. It almost makes our buyers feel like they are adopting an animal, and we like that!”
The company “functions like a fashion house”, with collections of one-of-a-kind pieces dropping throughout the year. The first of their collections are set to be shown in an exhibition in Shoreditch this March, and it will feature a variety of rooms built around each piece, showcasing how it would all function in a living space.
Their work has a lot to do with sustainability – but it also has a lot to do with mental health. They’re all about combating our generation’s seemingly endless obsession with “instant gratification culture” and our somewhat unhealthy relationship with consumption: anything we want can be bought and delivered at the drop of a hat. This is what Burniture is working against. The collective strives to promote the beauty of crafty and quality, using it to combat this dopamine fuelled attitude to consumerism:
“because of social media and the dopamine addiction that it sets up, a lot of, and this is not all, this is a generalisation, but a lot of our generation is addicted to quick fix solutions to problems rather than finding sustainable strategies. I really believe that happiness is a skill, not a sentiment, and so for that you need strategies and one of them, I think, is partaking in craft and manual labour; stuff that takes you out of your head, out of your home.”
Burniture is taking the fast furniture industry head-on. And their approach doesn’t just centre around environmental issues, but on tackling our relationship with consumerism, too. They’re all about the craft, and the collective seeks to prioritise longevity. It’s all about the process, the love of making things, and the importance of looking after the things we own. We’ve long forgotten how to do all of that – and Burniture is keen to help us remember.