Artecnica

Artecnica is a Los Angeles based design company that collaborates with the most established and emerging international designers to create inspiring decorative objects for the living environment. Alongside such talented designers as Tord Boontje, Hella Jongerius and the Campana brothers, we continue to explore vibrant, colorful ways of expressing compelling ideas and bringing delight and discovery to everyday design. Artecnica is committed to considering issues of environmental sustainability and responsible manufacturing. Products are often made with recycled materials and transported in easy-ship flat packages to help reduce our carbon footprint. And our Design with Conscience® program works with artisan communities in developing countries to produce unique handcrafted objects that reflect indigenous skills. This humanitarian approach supports shared work and profit across borders, cultures, races, and religions. Here again, design acts as a catalyst for change, providing an opportunity to help transform the global landscape. Design w/Conscience, founded by Artecnica in 2002, is a program for the design and manufacturing of products to be in accordance with humanitarian and environmentally sensitive principles. With the increasing globalization of trade, village artisans have become the outcast of their traditional markets, insulating them from the potential demand for their craft. The challenge is to develop a competitive product that will encourage the survival of indigenous skills while managing to avoid the mechanization of the artisan and the devaluing of artisan’s work. In order to promote self-sustaining communities of talented artisans in underdeveloped countries, Artecnica—partnering with nonprofit organizations such as Aid to Artisans and the British Council—acts as the project producer and teams artisans in areas of need with internationally renowned designers. The designers help the artisans find their place in the international market and Artecnica provides the logistics, marketing and art direction necessary to bring a finished product to the consumer.