“We aim to inspire others to rethink their relationship with waste…”
Tell us about your origin story.
I was born in Newcastle, England, and later moved to London in my early 20s. There, I co-founded and artistically directed LN-CC in 2009. However, despite living my dream with a successful store, I began to feel disillusioned with the fashion industry due to its negative environmental impacts and fast-paced nature. In 2014, I made a life-changing decision to move to Bali with my wife to fundamentally reconnect with nature and learn about more circular and holistic practices.
When arriving in Bali, I was deeply shocked by the plastic waste crisis, not just on the island but also seeing waste washing in from other parts of the world as wide as the United States and the UK. This realization inspired me to take action. In 2014, I joined Potato Head as Global Creative Director, where we built a zero-waste creative village and hotel, aiming to make positive changes through cultural experiences.
Unfortunately, Potato Head had to close temporarily in 2020 due to the pandemic. It was during this period that I decided to start Space Available. Utilizing the empty space we had been given during lockdown at home to pause, reflect, and think about the future, Space Available was created to reimagine the future of design. We started with a podcast and evolved into a circular design studio, specializing in using waste as a material to reimagine what is considered “waste” and harnessing the power of design to tackle plastic pollution.
Tell us about Space Available’s key initiatives.
One of our key initiatives is the Museum of Space Available (MOSA), which serves as a platform to showcase the value of waste. Traditionally, museums and galleries are seen as places of high value where precious items are displayed, we built MOSA to show that waste can belong in a museum, not in the confines of landfills or oceans.. Through MOSA and our design projects, we aim to inspire others to rethink their relationship with waste and embrace more circular practices using art and design as the vehicle for change.