Herbier Project

Presented during Milan Design Week 2023 in the Emerging Talents Exhibition at the House of Switzerland under the theme “Urgent Legacy”. Casa Degli Artisti, Brera Design District

Project initiated at La Becque, Switzerland in collaboration with: Sarah Schneider and Geneviève Marie Sainte, Phytosphere Swiss Lab, Valais, Switzerland; Viviane Fontaine, Paper Artist, Gruyère Region, Switzerland

During a six month residency at La Becque, Switzerland, I developed a family of face masks for skin care. Sustainability and circularity were central to these products.

These dry face masks are made with local plant fibers (by-products of plant extraction processes) and infused with plant-based formulations (extracts of plants found at La Becque).

Durante una residencia de seis meses en La Becque, Suiza, desarrollé una familia de parches para el cuidado del rostro, siendo la sostenibilidad y circularidad criterios centrales.

Estos parches secos están elaborados con fibras vegetales locales (mermas de procesos de extracción de plantas) e impregnados con formulaciones basadas en plantas (extractos de plantas halladas en La Becque).

Once infused, the patches go through a dehydration process. The patches can be distributed dry, leading to simpler packaging. Two patch types were developed: one to target the oily zones of the face (T-zone) and another to awaken fatigued eyes.

The user must re-humidify the patches with water to release a gel-like substance, and then apply on the skin for ~15 minutes. Once the patch has been completely used, it is biodegradable and compostable.

Una vez impregnados, los parches pasan por un proceso de deshidratación. Estos parches pueden ser distribuidos secos, llevando a un empaque más simple. Desarrollé dos tipos de parches: uno para las zonas grasas del rostro (zona T) y otro para ojos cansados (ojeras).

El usuario debe humedecer los parches con agua para que éstos liberen una sustancia gelatinosa, y luego aplicarlos a la piel por ~15 minutos. Cuando el parche ha sido completamente utilizado, es biodegradable y compostable.

Phytosphere Swiss Lab. Conthey, Canton of Valais.
Viviane Fontaine’s Studio. Cerniat, Gruyère Region.

Photography by Jagoda Wisniewska