TINTU

Project

268886

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Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

TINTU

Full concept/idea title

Description

Synthetic paint and dye products contain many harmful substances. As a response, creatives started making 100% natural colour from plants and food waste. This activity used to be reserved for those who were prepared to spend hours hovering over okd cooking pots. TINTU offers an alternative to harmful colour products and optimises the process of making natural colour at home. Make your own colour with TINTU - an experience cooking device - and use it to paint, write, dye textile and much more!

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

Problem Colour pigments, paints and dyes contain titanium dioxide and other harmful substances such as biocides and volatile organic compounds. As a response, eco-conscious creatives started making 100% natural colour from plants and food waste. The making of natural dyes used to be reserved for the 'die-hards' who were prepared to look up old recipes that were used 200 years ago or earlier, hunt for old pots, spend hours hovering over their cooking pots and tolerate permanent pigment stains on their tablecloths. But the methods and material used for making natural colour are anything but optimised, which makes this activity not user-friendly. Solution TINTU, an exprerience cooking device, want to offer an ecological alternative to synthetic creative colour products, whilst improving the process of making natural colour. With the help of TINTU, the user moves through the entire process of making colour in a smooth, user-friendly and experiental way. TINTU makes it possible to create your own homemade, unique and all-natural colour concentrates at home. These colours can be use for painting, writing, dyeing textile and much more! TINTU In concrete terms, this project consists of two parts. First and foremost, there is the product TINTU, which has been designed in such a way that the user can create his own colour concentrates at home in a simple and efficient manner using plants and food waste. In addition, we also offer a series of workshops at TINTU. Through these workshops, clients learn more about the workings and benefits of TINTU while creating their own colour concentrates. Depending on the theme of the workshop, these colours are then used during an artistic session where, for example, textiles are coloured.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

Raw materials/consumables With the product TINTU, you can create your own natural colours at home on the basis of plants and food waste. These raw materials are completely natural, packaging-free, renewable and can be collected by the users themselves. So there is no packaging involved, and no organised transport, which lowers the impact of this activity enormously compared to chemical colouring products such as paints and textile dyes. In addition, dye plants are often reusable as they contain a large amount of strong dye. Repairable and modular TINTU is a product that consists of several parts that can be disconnected from each other. The reservoir consists of four separate parts - two lids, two glass reservoirs and a coupling piece - which means that they can be repaired and renewed separately. If the user requests a new lid, there is no need to replace the entire product. The heating element contains important components such as an induction coil, a fan and electronics. Therefore, when designing this product part, extra attention was paid to the Design for Disassembly aspect. The top surface of this part closes the whole through a snap connection. This snap connection can be opened by using a simple tool, allowing the technical components to be maintained or recovered for re-use in a user-friendly manner.  Non-automated where possible In addition, the product is designed so that operations are manual where possible and not automated - and therefore electrical. This minimises the overall energy consumption of the product. Moving the heating element up to the reservoir and rotating the reservoir are done through rich physical, purely mechanical, interactions between user and product.  Materials This product consists of materials that are either recyclable or are already recycled. For example, the coloured parts are made from post-industrial recycled polypropylene and the metal parts from stainless steel, which can easily be recycled. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

An important aspect that contributes to the durable character of this product is the value that the user attaches to the product. If someone values a product personally, they will take extra care of it and, as a result, the product will last longer.  Design TINTU is a product designed with an eye for aesthetics. The product is not only practical, but has been designed in such a way that after use, this design piece can remain at its location and does not need to be hidden away in a cupboard. It goes without saying that a beautiful aesthetic product creates more value for the user. Self-development In addition, TINTU guides the user in the creation of a 100% natural, self-made and unique colour. This process, in which the user has ownership and the result that is obtained, being a unique colour concentrate, make this product a very personal object that contributes to the personal and creative self-development of its user. This aspect also contributes to the value creation around TINTU. User experience A third aspect that increases the bond between user and product is the experience factor that TINTU creates. TINTU has an eye for the creative aspect of this activity. Both in the interactive actions between product and user, as well as the visual tracking of the process, attention was paid to creating a rich user experience. For instance, through the transparency of the reservoirs, the user can see the water gradually changing colour. And when, for example, the reservoir is rotated this action is achieved through a rich physical interaction between user and product.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

Reference point TINTU is a starting point from which creative people produce their own colour according to the same step-by-step plan, using the same product. The fact that this product is a reference point makes it possible to share, optimise and reproduce recipes in a highly efficient and effective way. Platform  The TINTU platform is a meeting place where recipes and artwork can be shared among TINTU users. This platform brings together eco-conscious creatives from different disciplines. This creates creative cross-pollinations across disciplines, where artists can learn from each other and be inspired. In addition, the various resources - such as recipes, tutorials, artistic projects, etc. - that can be found on the platform, form a source of inspiration. Workshops TINTU offers the experience of creating natural colours not only to those who buy the product. Besides the product itself, the TINTU team offers a series of creative workshops. During these workshops, clients learn to create colours with TINTU and then apply them in a specific creative session. In this way, the creation of 100% natural colour and art is accessible to an even larger group of creatives.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

Unique experience TINTU sells a value, an experience, that no other product in this sector can match. TINTU makes it possible to create unique colours in a creative yet relaxing way. Colours that are 100% natural and plant-based and can be used in many artistic activities. This product makes it possible for creative people to let their artistic activities run completely naturally and say goodbye to synthetic products, which have a very negative impact on nature and the environment during production and create a pile of waste after use. Safe and flexible Previously, colours were often made in pots and pans in the kitchen. Since some of the plants used to make colour are not edible, this is a dangerous mix of applications. TINTU has its own heating element and cooking pot. Therefore, pots and pans which can also be used for cooking by accident do not have to be used. The heating element makes TINTU a context-flexible product. It can be safely placed in the kitchen as well as in a creative room or on a workbench. Efficient and clean TINTU guides the user from the start of the process to pouring the obtained colour into a storage bottle. The fact that this product focuses on completing each step of the process as cleanly and efficiently as possible means that cleaning up is avoided and washing up is minimised.  Calming and creative  Because of the transparent parts of TINTU, the user can fully follow the colouring of the water, which contributes to the creative experience of making colour. TINTU can be left alone in a safe way. This means that the user does not always have to give all his/her attention to the product and transforms the process into a calm event, in which the user himself determines the contact moments with TINTU.

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

I'm really proud of what TINTU has become and I believe that now is the time to introduce a product that can transform people's creative practices into environmentally friendly and all-natural moments. We are growing more conscious of the impact we have as humans on this planet. Let us not only improve our efforts of becoming more sustainable and greener in sectors such as food and fashion, but also during our creative moments! With this product, I hope to attract the attention of the creative community and key players within this sector. Who knows, maybe a collaboration with one of them will emerge and TINTU can actually be realised!

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.