WHO IS

157+173 designers is a design studio, specialized in product design and architecture.

The studio formed in 2009 and since is active with international projects.

WHAT IS woo(l)den fishbone* carpet

FIshbone* is a carpet made of wool & wood. 

It is the first prototype of the project called Wool(d)en carpets, which are carpets designed with the use of wool and wood and inspired by familiar floor patterns.

It is designed to stand in-between a woolen carpet and a wooden floor.

Fishbone* design is based on the parquet floor pattern.

LIFESTYLE

Fishbone* is perfect for any type of flooring.

...And it’s got a great style, to fit with all environments. 

It combines a soft woolen feel with the sense of a solid wooden floor, in one product !

ADVANTAGES & BENEFITS 

- contemporary design

- good workability

- only sustainable resources used

- 100% natural

- local industry support while making

- good potential with more patterns to come

100% NATURAL 

FIshbone* carpet is 100% natural product.

All resources used are sustainable and they are not mixed with any other substances during manufacturing.

Woolen parts are manufactured by natural wool collected from sheep, without harming the animals.

Wooden parts are manufactured by natural maple wood, collected on selected authorized areas, without harming the forest.

PROPERTIES 

- excellent insulation, especially helpful on cold cement or tile floors.

- unique sense on feet when walking.

- warm sense & unique character on space.

- comfortable to walk on, & perfect to relax on with your friends.

PUBLICITY & ACCEPTANCE

fishbone* was firstly introduced as an early prototype in 2015 Paris Design Week.

Despite is has never been officially released as a product, it received very flattering comments and it was published into numerous press, magazines and blogs, while it even made it on the Wall Street Journal, next to very popular brands.

TECHNICAL

BASE LAYER: stone white felt sheet 12mm & planted magnets

IN-BETWEEN LAYER : cotton ribbons and crochetes

TOP LAYER : grey felt sheet 0,6mm, cnc cut & wooden pieces

DIMENSIONS : 2,45 x 1,05 m 

THICKNESS : 18 -20 mm

HOW IT IS MADE

On all steps during manufacturing, local experts are associated with the project.

In this way, we support the local industry and local resources, and we have best control over the process.

WOOL

During spring, sheep are sheared in the farm!

Wool is collected and sent to the factory, where it  gets washed, processed through the knitting machine, and finally compressed with steam and hot water, until a dense, thick sheet of wool is produced.

Woolen sheets are cut very precisely into shape, with the help of a cnc knife router.

WOOD

Rough planks of maple wood are trimmed, sharpened, cut into the desirable shape, and engraved on their back side and finished with a soft eco matt varnish.

FINISH & SET UP

All parts are put together in our workshop.

Magnets are installed into the lower layer of wool and covered with cotton ribbons, and underneath each piece of wood too, so wooden pieces can be removable but not allowed to lift up, when stepping on them.

Finally, the two layers of wool are glued together with natural latex glue, and wooden pieces are set into place.

CHALLENGES AND PROCESS

fishbone* carpet, had several difficulties through its almost 12 months of ( on&off ) project development and many different design solutions were proposed, until the first successful sample. 

Our cat Miou, surely behaved it strongly, so we were able to understand that the wool had to be more dense, to remain soft but not to wear out.

Knives we designed for the felt cuts, were difficult to handle and time-wise ineffective. We ended up using the cnc router. 

Wooden parts, were firstly attached on the felt layer by using velcro, but made them highly unstable, until magnets were introduced as the best solution.

FURTHER POTENTIAL & MORE PATTERNS

We designed wool(d)en carpets to share what we believe is a progress in carpets and flooring in general. 

Fishbone* is the main pattern we worked on, while our main goal is to be able to expand the WOO(L)DEN PROJECT with more patterns.

Several patterns have been studied so far, and are yet to come in a carpet format.

Thus the project can become a more complete and competitive proposal !

MAINTENANCE / CLEANING

Fishbone* carpet can be vacuum cleaned. 

Small stains can be cleaned with a wet absorbing cloth. 

Wooden pieces are removable for easy cleaning underneath them.

Wooden pieces can be cleaned with a wet cloth.

Naturally, felt may make small knots after extensive use, but it can be good as new, with a gentle shave with normal scissors. 

Steam ironing can also be performed occasionally, to refresh the look of the felt !

RAISED FUNDS WILL HELP US

1. PRODUCE A SMALL NUMBER OF *FISHBONE CARPETS FOR PROMOTIONAL REASONS.

2. COVER PARTICIPATION FEES FOR MAJOR INTERNATIONAL DESIGN EXHIBITION.

3. DEVELOP AND PRODUCE NEW PROTOTYPES OF MORE WOO(L)DEN PATTERNS.

& also

4. COVER EXPENSES FOR WOO(L)DEN GIFTS & PACKAGING & SHIPPING.

5. ATTRIBUTE INDIEGOGO & PAYPAL COMMISSION

WHAT YOU GET / GIFTS

Made from the same materials and style, we additionally designed "woo(l)den gifts", a whole family of related products of the fishbone carpet, for the bakers who support our project !

These are:

- a traditional sheep's bell & a shepherd's crook, as a reminder of the fishbone carpet origin.

- a case for leaving your phone while charging.

-a pair of slippers. 

-an iPad & iPad mini case.

-a cat house.

-a backpack.

CREDITS 

We would like to thank the following people for their valuable contribution, while making this project.

Kostantinos Hatzhiagapoglou, at VIOKETS, for providing us with the felt material, and helping producing the first fishbone prototype.

Petros & Vasilis Delitzakis, for manufacturing the wooden parts of the carpet.

Mrs Athina, for her help and good company on the making of the woo(l)den gifts.

Markos Galonis, for cutting a sample on the cnc machine in his lab.

Jertef, for taking all photographs of the fishbone carpet and the woo(l)den gifts.

Marika Sunday, for helping designing woo(l)den gifts and their packaging during her internship in our studio,

Karolos Gakidis, for helping recording the soundtrack and the voice over of this campaign.

Stratos for helping with the camera, while filming ourselves in our studio.

Miou, our cat, for treating fishbone carpet in her own very style, which helped us understand the felt's properties and weakness points.

Video direction, filming and editing by 157+173 designers.

Original soundtrack  by 157+173designers.

Additional soundtrack by Babis Papadopoulos.

THANKS !

Big thanks to everyone who supports this project.

Even if you cannot back it, you can still help by sharing it on social media and help it grow large !

All  the names of all who backed our project, will be posted on our social media, to let the world know that you helped this project come to life !

Spread the word !

babis & christina

157+173 designers