Crafted from materials found in a rewilded construction pit in Ljubljana, the tea set celebrates the fifth anniversary of the Krater Collective, a group of transdisciplinary practitioners who co-produce this feral ecosystem, cultivating the conditions that allow for its regeneration.

The Forbidden Vernaculars tea set is an archive of material traces of Krater, an 18,000 m2-large feral ecosystem undergoing succession in a pending construction pit left behind by Austro-Hungarian military barracks. The clay used for the cup developed as a result of the construction waste accumulated in the gravel pit was foraged on plots overgrown by horsetail. Made from the mycelium grown in a substrate from invasive Canadian goldenrod, the protective packaging serves as a biodegradable alternative to styrofoam. The rhizomes of invasive, but antioxidant-rich Japanese knotweed that make up the tea are harvested when life in Krater hibernates. All materials are processed in the paper and clay workshop, and the Mycolab, the collective’s shared production spaces. The tea set blends various innovative materials with their creators’ care for the urban ecosystem and its gifts through the year’s seasons. It is Krater Collective’s representational product that transforms what only seems like an abandoned space in a construction pit into a laboratory of regenerative design production.

Design: Krater Collective; product designer Rok Oblak, mycologist Primož Turnšek, ecosocial designer Gaja Mežnarić Osole, and craftsman Andrej Koruza for BIO27 Super Vernaculars – Design for a Regenerative Future (2022). The tea set was featured at several exhibition venues, including at Ars Electronica, IZIS Festival, MODEM Modern and Contemporary Arts Center, and L’Internacionale summer school.

Every product carries a certificate of authenticity and the year of production. The series is subject to availability of the material sourced from a small clay pit that developed on the site as a result of waste soil deposited in Krater during the widening of Dunajska Street. 

Dimensions: 12 cm x 11 cm x 12 cm
Weight: 400 g
Materials: Krater clay, mycelium and goldenrod-based biocomposite, Notweed paper, leather made from tree fungus
Origin of materials: Krater feral ecosystem, Ljubljana
Country of manufacture: Slovenia
Colours and variations: Every tea set is unique – handmade with natural colours only.
Other technical details: The clay cup is suitable for everyday use. Materials that make up the elements are biodegradable and durable if stored in a dry place. Hand extruded and finished using standard ceramic firing techniques, the tea cup is dishwasher friendly. Japanese knotweed rhizomes are completely lignified and their shelf-life is therefore near-indefinite. The teabag is made from tree mushroom paper and is not suitable for consumption. Once opened, the protective packaging can be reused as a storage container, or composted. The set comes with a label printed on Notweed paper made from Japanese knotweed, a sustainable innovation of Slovenian origin.

Tea set is part of MADE IN SLOVENIA gifts.