October 20, 2017
Deriva
Recycled materials, free-toxic products, fusion of tradition, culture and innovation ... these are the keys to Deriva. Founded this year by Alba Albelda and Ramón Goñi, this Basque company has arrived as force to reckon with.
Deriva products are made from recycled boat sails giving a new life to this material… how does the idea come about?
The idea comes from a visit to the garage of my house. Searching for my father’s old clothes, I came upon the remains of a “DERIVA” velvet set up in the 80’s (cards, sails, dacron bags …). Remains of a family history linked to the sea. It’s something that always fascinated me. Already from small tantee with the surf and the sail.
At that moment my obsession began to recover the brand “DERIVA” and that pile of used candles stacked in the garage. In those years, they used to use the sails to make bags for clients and friends. The sail is a very resistant material to the sun, the water, the wind. So why not check out that material and reuse it to make backpacks? We pass from having it stopped to transform it into an object that I will use every day and that I will carry everywhere.
I arrived with my story to Alba (she is a designer) and together we started to work to give an image and form to what is “Deriva Sailmakers” and the 1701.
The pieces printed in 3D biodegradable are by Comme des machines, how did this collaboration come about?
This collaboration comes through a friend who knows everything about fashion and its suppliers (Katalyn). She had been following them for a long time and we were following the trail of a “sustainable” hook for the 1701 – something certainly complicated to find – a perfect clash. The moment we met Comme des machines was amazing. Their work is incredible and their philosophy fit with us, so we decided to launch the first backpack with pieces of biodegradable 3D.
Deriva backpack 1701 is the very first piece you have launch, how would you describe it? Where can you buy it?
The 1701 is a very special backpack because each one is unique in its kind. I mean, – Each backpack is made from a worn-out sailing ship that has sailed, has weathered, has competed, has been folded a thousand times, which has a behind a unique story.
From each of these sails, we can make a maximum of eight backpacks and there are no two sails alike. In addition we add that 3D, which is already a breaker in a backpack, is designed, printed and then hand polished. It is a form of digital craftsmanship.
We can find the 1701 on the website of ekohunters.com and soon on our website deriva.eus
It is clear the commitment of Deriva for sustainability, what value / return brings you?
Sustainability is the route to offer value products in a supersaturated market. If we get out of it, we stop innovating and generating value. That is why we want to investigate new ways of producing locally and through new materials, give a message of inspiration to other companies and startups that you can do things well.
In 2018 … what products would you like to have added to the 1701?
We are currently working on a line of belts. It is a product that is returning. On the other hand, we want to continue expanding our catalog of backpacks and we have begun to patterned with raincoats. Soon we will release more!