Skalja — Ariane Carde Design

SKALJA

From waste to a precious object

Product | Material development
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Fish Scales, Collagen | Hand molded
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2023
Graduation Project
Montreal
FUKAI In collaboration with Emilie Gibert
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C Idea New Star Award
Lambert et Fils Award
Studio Haricot Award
ADIQ Award
EVA Grant
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Dialogues in Design, from Gobelin to Aalto | Helsinki 2025
Annuel de Design | Montreal 2023
Pratiques exemplaires | Montreal 2023

The project begins with a residual and pollutant material: the humble fish scale, a material excluded from conventional recycling and composting chains, often left to rot in ports and rivers or disposed of in landfills. By inserting ourselves into the sales cycle of local Montréal fishmongers, this residue was intercepted before it reached the trash or the drain, reclaiming it as a resource.

From there, the design process followed the material itself. Instead of imposing form from the outside, we conducted over 100 experiments to understand the limits, constraints, and opportunities offered by fish scales. Pressed mechanically and dried naturally in open air, the material retained its structural integrity and its unique optical qualities. Through this low-energy process, we developed a sustainable biomaterial whose shimmering translucency interacts with light.

Within this context, Skalja takes the archetype of a luminaire to express its purpose as clearly as possible: to reveal light through matter while drawing attention to the forgotten potential of waste. The resulting object is formally modest, allowing the innovation of the material to take center stage. By choosing the luminaire as its vessel, we created a direct, intuitive object that emphasizes both the intimacy of daily use and the broader narrative of ecological transformation.

Skalja is not only a lamp; it is a demonstration that waste can be reborn as a material of beauty and dignity. It invites us to reconsider the value of the overlooked, and to imagine an ethics of design where durability, emotional resonance, and ecological respect outweigh disposability. More than a product, Skalja's educational and prototypical value outweighs its commercial potential, offering an example of how material awareness can reshape our relationship to the objects we create and keep.