STUDIO KLOAK IS A ZERO-WASTE DESIGN STUDIO REIMAGINING THE BOUNDARIES OF MATERIAL, FUNCTION, AND FORM. FOUNDED BY ACCLAIMED DESIGNER AND EDUCATOR COCO REE LEMERY, THE STUDIO OPERATES AT THE INTERSECTION OF DESIGN, SUSTAINABILITY, AND PEDAGOGY—PART EXPERIMENTAL LAB, PART CREATIVE SANCTUARY. AT ITS CORE, STUDIO KLOAK CHAMPIONS AN ETHOS OF RADICAL SUSTAINABILITY, PRODUCING SCULPTURAL, HANDMADE FURNITURE AND FUNCTIONAL OBJECTS THAT CHALLENGE THE NORMS OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND DISPOSABLE CULTURE.

THROUGH AN INTENSIVE, PRACTICE-BASED PROCESS, THE STUDIO EXPLORES NEW MATERIAL FUTURES—TRANSFORMING BIOMATERIALS, RECYCLED COMPONENTS, AND SALVAGED ARCHITECTURAL REMNANTS INTO COLLECTIBLE WORKS OF DESIGN. EACH OBJECT IS A STATEMENT ON IMPERFECTION AND UTILITY, RECASTING SCULPTURE THROUGH A UTILITARIAN LENS AND FOSTERING A RENEWED APPRECIATION FOR THE HAND-MADE.

SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 2022, FOLLOWING COCO’S DEPARTURE FROM HER ROLE AS A DESIGN DIRECTOR FOR MAJOR U.S. BRANDS, STUDIO KLOAK HAS GROWN INTO A MULTIDISCIPLINARY INCUBATOR FOR SUSTAINABLE DESIGN. COCO’S ACADEMIC AND MATERIAL RESEARCH INTERROGATES GLOBAL WASTE SYSTEMS, BIODIVERSITY LOSS, AND LABOR ETHICS, TRANSLATING THESE URGENT THEMES INTO TANGIBLE, TEACHABLE FORMS.

TODAY, STUDIO KLOAK CONTINUES TO SHAPE BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL LANDSCAPE OF DESIGN. WITH EVERY PIECE CRAFTED BY COCO AND A TEAM OF VISIONARY CRAFTSWOMEN, THE STUDIO FUNCTIONS NOT ONLY AS A PRODUCER OF OBJECTS BUT AS A CATALYST FOR DIALOGUE—OFFERING A BOLD, HOPEFUL ALTERNATIVE TO EXTRACTIVE DESIGN PRACTICES.