The young Puerto Rican designer Ana Cristina Quiñones recently created Materia Madura collection, inspired by the traditions of Puerto Rico.
The designer’s presentation: The first manifestation of an innovatory material developed from plantain and coffee waste, Materia Madura is a furniture collection inspired by the indigenous TaÃno culture of Puerto Rico and their prehistoric artefacts.
Aimed at subtle and evocative interiors, Materia Madura proves durable and functional, yet it is sustainable, biodegradable, and more lightweight than other materials of similar aesthetic qualities. Materia Madura seeks to recognize familiarity, simplicity, and the idea that the possible future may not be all digital and technological, but rather a simple sophisticated functionality.
Plantain and coffee, cultural staple foods of Puerto Rico, are produced and consumed in abundance, therefore their organic waste is also abundant. Taking advantage of this local waste and transforming it through a design approach, this project aims to highlight how many everyday objects are designed with toxic, unsustainable materials, when they can be produced with locally sourced, non-toxic, sustainable, and potentially biodegradable materials.
