Useful Totem: an exploration into circular making

Sculptural tableware embodies circular design principles to minimise waste

URGE's Alexie Sommer has led a creative exploration into 'circular making' with Quentin Delion from Studio Delion. The Useful Totem collection of sculptural tableware pieces, that embody circular design principles, launches at Material Matters during London Design Festival 2026.

Originally inspired by a desire to store leftover food without the need for clingfilm, the collection is designed to elevate the everyday and act as a provocation. Made from existing, recycled and recyclable materials the process demonstrates a responsible approach to design for the climate crisis. The sculptures layer reclaimed glass, recycled cork and off-cut wooden plates and bowls into beautiful installations for the home as well as functioning sets of tableware for eating food and storing leftovers.

Jacqueline Green: seven green Vereco plates punctuated with wild cherry bowls

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“This collection was originally inspired by a desire to create a less wasteful way to store leftover food. It has evolved into an exploration of making using circular principles. From my design research I see how important it is that we, as designers, need to be better informed about the carbon impact of materials, be more imaginative about the design choices we make, and always consider the end of life of the products we create. We must change the way we approach design by starting with what already exists - be it in reusable form or as a waste material we can transform - and consider what happens to our creations at the end of their lives.” Alexie Sommer

The starting point was never the drawing, but the existing materials. The vintage glassware was sourced on Le Bon Coin, on Selency, and in flea markets across the Basque Country where the designers are based. Duralex bowls, Arcoroc dishes, Vereco plates, chosen for their colour, deep amber, cobalt blue, true green, smoke, and for the tempering that has kept them solid through decades of domestic use.

Amber Aurelie: five orange bowls with ash plates

The wood comes from offcuts at Quentin's Bidart workshop, species chosen from what was on hand rather than ordered for the occasion. Offcuts of ash, cherry, oak and plane wood were turned to respond to the forms of the glassware. The process blended classic formal research with digital tools: 3D-printed templates allowed curves and fittings to be tested quickly before being cut into the final material, a method that speeds up trial and prototyping. Each form was adjusted until the wood held the glass with just the right tension, a balance that can't be entirely worked out on screen.

Beatrice Blue: five blue Duralex bowls on a pale oak base

The recycled cork is produced by Agglolux in Soustons, in the Landes, a family business founded in 1929 that transforms used wine corks, collected through a network of associations, into bespoke cork products.

Smoky Thomas: seven grey ARC bowls with cooked oak

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“As a cabinetmaker and designer, my work explores the dialogue between traditional craft, digital precision, and living materials. For Useful Totem, we worked directly with wood offcuts in my studio, turning them on the lathe to mix volumes, colours, and grain with the found glassware. Recycled cork plays a key structural role in bridging the elements, letting the materials guide our design language to create timeless, low-impact objects. It was exciting for me to explore how to revalue objects that already exist with raw materials that you can almost find everywhere.” Quentin Delion

The duo have been collaborating for over a year, developing the low carbon and circular sculptures which have less than 5% of the embodied carbon footprint than similar new objects made from virgin materials, revealed by a quick LCA of the totems.

Visit Material Matters during the London Design Festival to discover the collection displayed on iconic Alvar Aalto furniture in partnership with Aelfred — beautifully crafted Nordic furniture from the mid 20th-century. The Useful Totem installation will be on the ground floor of the show next to the bookshop — bring your old wine bottle corks to be recycled by Aggloux. The totems are available to buy directly from Alexie and Quentin and they are open to future collaborations and partnerships furthering explorations into circular making.