GEMMA

Gemma

The project consists of a system that allows to simply follow step-by-step the growing process

of small plants and flowers, from sowing, to sprouting, to transplants planted.
From the very beginning of the design process I started thinking about the situations in which this product could have been used, in the attempt to provide a well-rounded object, suitable for different contexts:

at home, in the garden, good to be moved from one place to another.
I wanted to design something that connected in a meaningful, practical, evocative way to people,
an object that was useful but at the same time able to integrate well itself with furniture

of contemporary apartments.

The name 'Gemma' is an italian word referring to the world of precious gemstones as well as to the

natural world, meaning both bud and gem.
The aim of the project was to convey an idea of symbolic value and preciousness to something so simple

and banal like domestic plants and flowers growing in our vases.

A felt holder is connected to a curved wooden support, while from the inside hangs a biopolymeric bag

in which the soil and the seeds are put.
The combination of these two transpiring materials (bioplastic and felt) guarantees a mild and

humid inner microclimate, protecting the plant (or the seeds) from sudden changes in temperature.

Seaming gives shape and structure to the felt and felt strips come out the vase volume helping

the plant to be protected from hits and other external shocks during transportation.

When the growing plant has to be planted in larger field sites, the covering is opened, and the

inner bag estracted from the felt holder. The whole biopolymeric bag is put into the soil: in a few days

soil microorganisms decompose the bag completely and only the plant nameplate will survive.