Hairdressers and barbershops can be spaces of familiarity, sensitivity and relaxation. For both customer and hairdresser, the salon is more than just a place to get or give a haircut. It can be a semi-domestic or therapeutic place to see an old friend or simply to relax. The salon extends the idea of where ‘home’ is. Whilst it relates to the extended idea of what home is, it also reflects how materials closer to home could have a valuable environmental and social impact by extending their lifetime. The UK ‘grows’ an estimated 6.7 million kilograms of human hair waste each year, which is currently being sent to landfill, releasing toxic gasses and taking up large volumes of space.This whilst hair contains valuable characteristics like high tensile strength, biodegradability and insulation, and salons bringing local communities together.

For Extended, Sanne Visser has designed eight unique mirrors using human hair rope and recycled mirror glass. The materials were collected from eight barber shops and hairdressers in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea as part of Locally Grown, Sanne’s residency project at the Design Museum. The mirrors are handmade with traditional craft techniques such as spinning and ropemaking. As is typical with Sanne’s work, making rope with human hair is a slow and mindful process involving sorting, cleaning and processing.

Extended at Brompton Design District, as part of Jane Withers’ curated programme ‘Make Yourself At Home’ during the London Design Festival 2022. ︎ by Studio Stagg

The majority of exhibition materials are reused and recycled. The mirrors are a tribute to Sanne’s hairdresser collaborators, with each of the mirrors being named after one of them. After the exhibition, the mirrors are on display for three months and available for purchase in each of the hair salons.  A part of the proceedings is going back to the hairdressers and a part will be donated to Choose Love and The Bike Project aiding the refugee and homelessness crisis.

The Extended series and exhibition was first launched during the London Design Festival, as part of Brompton Design District.

During the annual London Design Festival, Brompton plays host to a series of exhibitions and events discovered in shops, showrooms, galleries and institutions, and a curated programme by Jane Withers Studio within the District championing experimental design.

For 2022, the theme for Brompton’s pop-up programme is ‘Make Yourself At Home’.

‘Homes Away From Home’ panel talk, 22nd Sept 2022

Private homes are not the only places where we experience a sense of belonging or security.  In this talk we explore how unheralded public infrastructures can become sites where communities form. Moderated by Jane Withers with Sanne Visser, Eva Feldkamp, Jesse Butterfield and Jonathan Hagos. 

Extended Identity and Graphic Design by Studio Sanne Visser

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