Objects of Yahşibey

Yahşibey Design Workshops, Izmir, 2007

During the 8th Yahşibey Design Workshop, local design knowledge in the Yahşibey and Bademli villages was researched by 10 Industrial Design students from 5 different universities of Turkey with Miné's leadership. Participants were asked to find various objects made by the villagers by knocking on their doors and talking with them, and documented them all as Found Things during this research. Afterwards, participants analysed these objects and their stories -how they were made- in terms of functionality, usability, and historical background. From this analysis, we discovered that the local people applied their own DIY thinking, generated from their “needs" in order to provide solutions for themselves in their daily lives.

The workshop concluded with an approach of From Findings to Design as students determined the design techniques of villagers and with that similar mind-set, they designed objects -- Made Things -- both for villagers’ use and future Yahşibey Design Workshop participators’ use in the Yahşibey Project House.

Workshop led by Miné
Photography by Workshop Team