KEEP LIFE
PIETRO PETRILLO
Cluster Crafts caught up with Pietro Petrillo, one of the top Italian designers in the innovative field of Biomaterials. We discussed his bio-brand Keep Life and his ongoing commitment to challenge core environmental problems, like deforestation. Pietro’s Keep Life is an eco-friendly material made from nut shells and patented as an industrial wood alternative. The dream behind the product is to create a pathway re-connecting mankind to Mother Nature.
MEMORIE, AMALFI | DESIGN BY PIETRO PETRILLO
Hello Pietro! You’re the creator of Keep Life.
How did this come about? Tell us the story…
Keep Life was born in December 2015 by my intuition.
In Southern Italy at Christmas time, at the end of every meal
we traditionally place a woven straw basket in the middle of the table, containing a variety of nuts. Red wine is served to accompany
these offerings of Mother Earth. In 2015, during one of the many Christmas dinners we’re used to having, I noticed how the nut shells,
once devoid of their fruit, went to compose and form a harmonious
and irregular mantle characterised by different hues and sizes
and covering almost the entire surface of the table. Shortly thereafter,
that table became an experimental workbench, which led not only
to the creation of a new ecological material but above all
to a new way of thinking about matter within society.
At the beginning of 2017 the Keep Life brand was born,
together with a patent for industrial invention. Designer,
Ilaria Spagnuolo, joined the Keep Life project in early 2018.
CORE | DESIGN BY SILVIA D’AMBROSIO JEWELLERY.
A brand name is so significant in this day and age.
Yours is cool and catchy. How did you come up
with Keep Life and what is the deeper message behind the name?
The name Keep Life that identifies the brand and the material is the synthesis of a concept,
a new way of looking at this material within today's society. Keep Life is a concrete gesture
to create a legacy for a tree by keeping a part of it alive.
But how to keep a part of a tree alive?
It’s simple, using nutshells such as hazel, chestnut, walnut, almond, pistachio and peanut.
Keep Life is continuity, the legacy of a shell that has the possibility of continuing to live
through a real harvesting action, creating an alternative material,
and becoming an extension of the fruit tree within an urban space,
finally establishing a direct line between nature and man.
Is it important to you that Keep Life is an eco-friendly material?
Today it’s absolutely important to think about the development
of new eco-friendly materials. But, as a designer, it’s even more important
to analyse the production processes and act as a connector between companies
and consumers. What if we didn't categorise Keep Life as a new material?
What if we tried for a moment to detach ourselves from the concept
of new material and recycled material? Keep Life would automatically
take on the role of focusing attention on the fact that it has always
been present in nature, because the shells are an extension of the tree and,
therefore, the continuity of a tree understood as a generating element.
But we see a tree trunk as a resource to be exploited,
a single mass ready for use, without worrying about whether
the time has come for that tree to be cut down, nor that a series
of continuous felling may create damage to the ecosystem.
The shells, conversely, appear to be broken down into many small particles
that at first glance may seem insignificant compared to the trunk.
It is essential not only to think about developing new materials
but to develop new production processes which, in the case of Keep Life,
come from careful observation of nature itself, and should not be viewed
as recycling processes but rather as material continuity.
EDUARDO | DESIGN BY DESIGN ESPRESSO
FACCIADILUNA | DESIGN BY ILARIA SPAGNUOLO.
In 2017 Keep life became a patented industrial material. Congratulations!
What can you tell us about the manufacturing process?
The manufacturing process is a secret because it is protected by a patent.
What I can say is that I work in alliance with nature observing its production dynamics
and trying not to distort them. For example, Keep Life contains the same substance
that is contained in the tree trunk in its shells, lignin.
MEMORIE
Keep Life offers a multi-sensory experience. Is your goal to reunite mankind with nature?
As mentioned above, the role of the designer must also be that of a connector.
In this case, I thought of Keep Life as a link between nature and man,
and to do this I worked on what these have in common.
LONELY BEES’ CLUB | DESIGN BY BASE/34
We hear that Keep Life is a viable alternative to wood.
Could this be the holy grail to combat deforestation?
Keep Life was created with the intention of planting trees and not cutting them down, so why not?
Clearly, before planting useful fruit trees, the most suitable geographical areas for them should be studied.
What are the design applications for Keep Life?
Can you give us some examples?
The best use of Keep Life is in products ranging from the macro,
such as container and support furniture elements like sideboards, wardrobes,
bookcases, equipped walls, chairs or tables, to the micro,
such as objects for daily use or decoration or as interior coverings.
All works are done on commission and are therefore custom designed projects.
ALMOND |DESIGN BY DUDESIGN STUDIO
MY LANDSCAPE | DESIGN BY MARTA LAUDANI
We know that you instigated a shell recycling campaign during the nutty Christmas period.
Who is this campaign aimed at? Can you tell us how it works and what your aspirations for future campaigns are?
Today, the shell recovery campaigns are open to everyone all year round, not just at Christmas. Keep Life’s aim is for everyone to start
with their own fruit tree and send in their own shells.
Of course, for those who are unable to do so, they can contribute
by sending in the dried fruit shells they consume and,
depending on the quantities sent in, they will receive discounts
on the purchase of products.
Future Keep Life campaigns will be more and more transversal
and also aimed at people in the world of agriculture.
PIANTATOIO | DESIGN BY MATALI CRASSET
Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur or more as a creative?
Definitely a creative designer who likes to solve problems
PUDDLE | DESIGN BY SOVRAPPENSIERO
You recently participated in the online Dutch Design Week (DDW) 2020. How was your work received? Has the virtual shift been an interesting experience? Do you think it’s a valid platform for the future?
The experience of presenting a series of new projects digitally at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven was a viable alternative to the physical exhibition.
It was made possible thanks to the partnership with Isola Design District in Milan
and the formidable work we did with them.
Of course, digital cannot be the definitive solution and in the coming years
we must not make the mistake of thinking of completely replacing
physical events with digital.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the designer colleagues
who took part in the Keep it going call who flew virtually with us to Eindhoven:
Base/34, Design Espresso, Dudesign, Ilaria Spagnuolo, Marta Laudani,
Matali Crasset, Nunzia Ponsillo, Sovrappensiero, Studio Irvine, Silvia D'Ambrosio.
VENERIS | DESIGN BY NUNZIA PONSILLO
Where do you hope Keep Life will be in ten years?
I’d like to see it in the street, in a bar, an office or a house. I’d love to see it in an unexpected way,
even and above all in the form of everyday objects; but I think it will take more than 10 years.
Sustainable design must be a means of observing and benefiting from the processes of nature.
Keep Life is a transversal material project that started from a dream.
Thank you for reading,
Valeria & Cluster Team.
You can find Keep Life also on:
Instagram & their website