Design Revolution Road Show

On a cold day in Savannah, we set up our trailer exhibition in front of the beautiful Trustees Theatre downtown, which is owned by SCAD (along with about half of the town). We learned that while SCAD is a huge land owner and force within the community, the town has a sense of pride and gratitude for the institution as it was a huge part in revitalizing a dying economy and downtown.

In the morning, we had a steady trickle of passersby, ranging from families with toddlers to one particularly eccentric woman who rode up on a bike and wanted an explanation for “how the bread cutter worked.” As we don’t have a bread cutter in the exhibition, I was curious what the heck she was talking about. She was inquiring about the Paraguas Project, a simple tool with blade and tube that facilitates the shredding of plastic water bottles for craft communities that then use the raw material to weave baskets and other accessories. She had misread the word “Paraguas” as “baguette.” While the mistake was comical, it certainly did make for an eye-opening discussion of what more these products might evolve into!

In the afternoon we gave a lecture in the very regal theatre, followed by a Q&A session. For those who asked how to get involved, we pointed them to the toolkit and encouraged people to start their own projects and do so with a critical optimism. After the lecture the hundred or so people proceeded to the trailer to check out the products. Before leaving for the day, we had a conversation with Industrial Design professor John McCabe (an Auburn grad and who coincidentally works with Owen Foster from our University of Louisiana stop) and his students, who were excited about the work and told us a bit about what they were working on.

Just before leaving town we had to stop next door at Leopold’s, a Savannah fixture that serves some seriously rich and amazing ice cream (owned by movie producer Stratton Leopold). Thanks to Susan Isaacs and Brian Wishne for helping to make the day fun and productive!