Interview With Jamie Salm Of Mioculture

A new wave of thinking has gained more tangibility in 
recent years and everyone is jumping in to find a way
to contribute to this Viridian culture. Whether it is 
Steven Speilberg’ and Tom Hanks driving Toyota
Prius’s, magazines like Elle and Vanity Fair producing
green issues or designers like Jamie Salm adapting a
sustainable, responsible approach to his products –
for once, joining the trend and going where the river
flows is not a bad idea.

We first met Jamie Salm at a Dan Pink speech in
Philadelphia last year. A soft-spoken youth, with
piercing intelligent eyes, Jamie’s face or name
(pronounced as Hay-me)is hard to forget.

A Columbian native and an industrial design graduate
from Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, Jamie
started MioCulture in 2001. Founded on strong
principles of sustainability and eco-intelligence, his
products demonstrate responsible thinking and
environmental advantages. Like the reusable tiled
wall-paper made of waste or the multi-use Bale chairs.
The climb has been steep and rough– but today
MioCulture boasts of an impressive portfolio having
designed for Bloomberg and Anthropologie.

Eco: Were you always environmentally conscious?

Jamie Salm: No. Not in the sense I am now.

Eco: What changed you? What made you re-consider your
options and decide on your current design philosophy?
Was there a defining moment?

Jamie Salm: There were many defining moments. All
economic acticity has ecological impact. There were
several projects I did as a student in school that
made me realize the very importance of sustainable
design in our daily lives. (His college thesis was,
“furnishings made of waste-paper)  And after that, it
was just a matter of common sense. You know? When I
was thinking what am I going to dedicate my design
to… it was a obvious choice that it had to be
eco-friendly. That it had to be responsible.

Eco: Has it been difficult to sustain your business
because of your philosophy? Were you ever forced to
compromise?

Jamie Salm: At times it is difficult to explain to
people my ideas and what I am doing. But I understand
that people haven’t had the opportunity to look at the
world the way I have. My education, my experiences….
So it becomes a matter of working within their frame.
Its not as much about telling them what they are doing
is wrong, but its more about encouraging them to do
right.

Eco: There has been a major shift in the collective
consciousness of the design and architectural
community about sustainability and responsibility in
the last couple of years. What caused it?

Jamie Salm: We opened shop in 2001 and our first
collection of products featured in 2003. During tha
time, there was not as much retail-based interest in
sustainability. There are several reasons why this
shift has occured. First off, it has to do with the
perception of value of a thing. When designers are
designing something, they think, how do I add value to
this? It is possible to create anything today– the
challenge lies in how we create it, in asking.. why
should we make it? Ethical questions about the
products have become more important than the product
itself.

Ofcourse function plays an important role but now
designers are thinking — if I can choose to make
something, why not make it better? why not make it
eco-friendly?

And it’s not about feeling guilty, it is about making
your contribution.

….. whats your contribution?

MIOculture

Interview contributed By Jinal Shah