In May 2016 the pop-up shop COALSTORE, situated at London's Somerset House, sold handcrafted jewellery and sculpture made of diamond's darker carbon sister – coal. The pop-up shop drew attention to the fact that coal is also a precious material that is being used in processes that poison the land and air, rather than embellish it. The collection, aptly named Black Sunlight, was created by Paul Smyth and Andrew Merritt of design and architecture studio Something & Son in collaboration with material and wearable objects designers Marina Stanimirovic and Roisin Johns.
Each piece in the Black Sunlight SS16 collection was produced and is worn in support of the global climate movement. The material, made over millions of years from trapped trees in the folds of the earth, is the solid remains of the earth's early forest life. The COALSTORE celebrated this story and the beauty of coal.
"By wearing a COALSTORE piece you express a belief that this precious rock should be treasured and not burn’t. You commit to fight for the greater good of humanity, the creatures, the land, earth and sea and against those who poison us and fuel mindless consumption," said Something & Son.
