Tomorrow, September 13, marks the end of the European Union design exhibition Design Beyond Things at Expo 2025 Osaka. It brings together 35 of Europe’s most innovative and creative designers, who reveal the lexicon of contemporary European design. One of the participants in the exhibition is Dace Sūna. She calls herself a designer-maker, as it is important for her to develop her work not only conceptually and visually but also to experiment with different materials herself. In the Nice Touch section, she talks about a garment that allows her to get her hands dirty in the workshop.
«While studying for my master’s degree in Contextual Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven, I had access to various workshops: wood, metal, textiles, plastics, screen printing, and ceramics, as well as 3D printing, CNC, and laser cutting equipment. We also had a dedicated dirty space. Additionally, we could work in glass melting and metal casting workshops outside the academy. I work with light, so my favourites were the glass and metal workshops. Glass is a material that breaks and plays with light, while metal is a durable material that I use for support structures. In the Netherlands, I also learnt to weld, which I find very exciting. Plus, I like to break out of gender role stereotypes.
When I started this two-year workshop journey, I bought dungarees at Lidl that allowed me to go to workshops with peace of mind, without worrying about the cleanliness of the clothes underneath. This garment literally allowed me to get my hands dirty. It has several pockets, both in the front and on the sides and back. The dungarees are also very useful on installation days, as I can put the necessary screws in the pockets and hook a tool onto the strap designed for this purpose. In addition, I have received many compliments when I wear these dungarees.»
For Dace Sūna , design is a journey that unites nature and science. She explores the interaction between space and light, drawing inspiration from nature and its elemental forces. Dace holds a master’s degree in contextual design from the Eindhoven Design Academy in the Netherlands and a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. While living in Los Angeles, the designer mastered the art of neon, creating spatial light objects. In the Netherlands, Dace turned her attention to conceptual installations, using light as a poetic means of expression. Her diploma work, Cosmic Dancer, won the National Design Award of Latvia 2024 in the environmental design category.
For the Latvian design exhibit 89th Second, part of the Design Beyond Things exhibition, Dace created the Sky-Set light, which captures the changing colours of the sky using the Rayleigh scattering effect. The shape of the object also references dendrochronology — the study of climate history through the tree rings. Read more about Sky-Set here.
Viedokļi