Since 2007, Berlin-based designer Katja Werner has been working on the upcycling of seemingly disused materials, which she turns into new uses in meaningful and often surprising contexts.

What had its origins in the old enthusiasm for flea markets and scrap yards, the adoption of abandoned things from the street and the use of found objects, eventually became the focus of her work as a designer.

"Upcycling" and "sustainable consumption" were still new terms for most people at the time, but the need for ecological responsibility and meaningfulness in combination with professional design were the driving force behind this new orientation.

In addition to free objects and installations, her label K.W.D. became known above all for product designs made from recycled bicycle and motorcycle inner tubes, from which bags and accessories are made, for example. Meanwhile, however, discarded conveyor belts from supermarket checkout counters and disused stretch tents also offer the basis for a new life as a functional bicycle bag or backpack.

The focus is on the goal of identifying the advantages and properties of a material and making them, detached from their previous function, sustainably usable.

Always on the lookout for new challenges and materials, individual product designs for corporate customers round off the portfolio. However, most of the works are produced directly in the Berlin shop studio as unique pieces and small series.

The growing focus on the topic of sustainability has made Katja Werner more and more of an ambassador, whose work above all makes viewers realize the potential that lies in seemingly worthless material. Changing the way we look at things is a learning process that involves both industry and the consumers themselves.