Believing that there is no better time than now to become environmentally conscious, designer Jasper Eales and big wave surfer and business man Mike Schlebach have teamed up to create a new brand, Sealand, that produces products made of hemp, organic cotton and upcycled waste-materials including old stretch tents, sail cloth and advertising billboard mesh.
"Mike and I have worked on a few collaborative projects together over the years, and through them we identified mutual visions for a brand that existed for the right reasons and had a core belief where environmentally responsible production is key." says Eales. "Mike ran a bag manufacturing company, which solely used upcycled yacht sail cloth as the material. With the creative direction I bring to the table and combination of both our business knowledge, we envisioned a brand that appealed to a broader market and encouraged environmentally responsible production further than we had both looked before. The idea of Sealand was born early 2015."
Sealand launches on 1 December 2015. As well as the various upcylced materials, Sealand products include sustainably sourced fabrics such as hemp and organic cotton. The products are durable and weatherproof.
“We believe in functionality and quality that stands the test of time,” says Eales. “All of our upcycled products are guaranteed to be 100 per cent unique, and have a lifetime warrantee. In return, this will reduce the amount of waste landing up in landfills. We are proud to have our roots in Cape Town, South Africa.”
Each piece of upcycled material used in Sealand’s range is chosen for its colour or pattern and no two products are the same.
Jasper Eales, who won Design Indaba’s Most Beautiful Object in South Africa 2014 with his surfboard rack and is a 2013 Emerging Creative, is a product designer with a focus on the integrity of the raw materials he uses. Together, with a shared passion for the water and creating environmentally friendly products, Eales and Schlebach are hoping that Sealand will help keep rubbish from littering South Africa’s shores.
Eales tells us the Sealand products are headed to France and New Zealand in 2016, and that he has been working on designs for some hemp and cotton apparel.
All images courtesy Sacha Specker. For more information on Sealand products, see their website.
