Summary
- A contest for DIY enthusiasts to make the most (creative/useful/ecological) item created from IKEA bags.
- Jury for merithorical/fair awards, plus audience awards for high social media spread (influencers and regular users asking their friends to vote).
- Creating “IKEA bag remix kits” - thick needle and thread, strong velcro in the right color, anything else a remixer might need. Making other bag colors available in those kits, making them a unique collector’s item.
- A real commitment to ecology, going beyond supporting remix culture - either another creative idea, or just donations.
Inspiration
Notes and details
- contest
- starter kit (a physical product sent out from or sold by IKEA)
- classic bags
- special edition bags (like pink and black)
- sewing kit
- velcro, buttons, anything else
- attractive rewards
- participation reward is already the bags/special bags/sewing kit
- this needs to be either applied for or bought, but for a fair price
- pickup at ikea encouraged, postage possible
- maybe just as a product in the shop
- some objective rewards, like money
- some fitting for the contest, like opportunity to work with ikea as a designer, or something like this
- recognition
- unique bag colors
- a mix of voting and judges
- social media/voting as either nomination for judges or a separate category
- voter must vote for multiple projects
- we could have many categories (e.g. most eco, most practical)
- example categories: inventive, artistic, social value
- values shared with IKEA
- cost-effectiveness (to the extreme)
- ecological sustainability
- goal is actually eco, not just corpo greenwashing
- fordering remix culture is already great, but think of ways to do more
- what else? check IKEA brand portal, maybe a book on IKEA
- fun fact: all high mountain climbers use ikea bags and people repurpose them in many other ways
- rhetoric
- the 16-35 generation has a strong remix culture
- (example: the north face remix on Laura’s backpack)
- they wear things like lidl slippers, semi-ironically
- shows a connections to brands that have been around them forever, incl childhood
- IKEA is beloved and is worn and used unironically
- ecological sustainability is one of the most important values
- self-critique
- this is not that origina of an ideal, already exists in the culture and the peak of its popularity so far may have been in the past
- side note: IKEA hackers
Bag variants
so einfach gehts
“One Sunday evening, I was driving through Copenhagen city centre thinking about IKEA, and it struck me that a lot of people had that blue bag,” said Mette Hay when the bags were presented to the press. “I immediately felt I had to ask IKEA if we could make our own interpretation of it – and I was delighted when they said yes!”
Resources
Bag
https://about.ikea.com/en/behind-scenes/products-design/2020/09/23/it-is-pink-and-yes-it-has-ruffles
Other IKEA campaigns, collabs, and behind the scenes
Existing bag remix culture
https://ikeahackers.net/ - not the same, they remix other ikea products