biodegradable tableware influenced by fruits and vegetables

biodegradable tableware influenced by fruits and vegetables
all images courtesy of qiyun deng

chinese designer qiyun deng is the creator of graft — a set of disposable tableware referencing the textured skins of fruits and vegetables. made from a bioplastic derived from renewable resources, the series of utensils is completely biodegradable, solving the environmental problem typically prevalent in disposable products. the project blends the texture and color of culinary items into the cutlery, visualizing their source materials: the leaf of an artichoke becomes the bowl of a soup spoon, a stalk of celery transforms into the handle of a fork, a pineapple stem is the blade of a knife, and a whole carrot acts as the grip of a small spoon. 

the process began with the decision to use plant skin as a textural medium. first, deng picked vegetables and fruits with special tactile features and reproduced their skins with resin to find a proper application. the textures were carefully copied to make sure they could seamlessly interface with the 3D printed parts.

original models of the series of fruit and vegetable textured tableware

a stack of the biodegradable celery forks

prototypes of the carrot spoons

an artichoke leaf was a point of reference for the final design of the soup spoon

pineapple skin knife

the celery fork 

the small carrot spoon

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