Sometimes a project begins by noticing what’s already there.
Weez & Merl had been working with SíSí on a series of coasters made from recycled plastic, with a distinct marbled finish. Around the same time, our Eva trolley was introduced into the space, and the connection felt immediate. Same colour, same material language, with a durability suited to the pace of service.
From there, the idea was simple: take what was already working and extend it into the trolley.
What starts as waste becomes surface, shaped by use and made to last.
Weez & Merl’s work is grounded in seeing waste plastic not as a byproduct, but as a raw material. Their process starts with collecting and sorting LDPE plastic from local waste streams in Brighton & Hove, ranging from packaging to materials from the bar and retail industries. Each panel carries the equivalent of around 100 plastic bags, reworked into something stable and long-lasting.
The material itself is built through layers. Most of the plastic they work with is clear, forming a translucent base. Colour is introduced sparingly, using fragments of coloured plastic to create depth without losing that sense of clarity. The marbled effect comes from cutting, rearranging, and recomposing these layers by hand before the material is compressed into sheets, CNC cut, and finished.
For SiSi, the result is a set of custom cover plates for the Eva trolley, in a fresh green tone that ties back to the original coasters. Set against the steel frame, they introduce a different material language, bringing contrast and depth to the setup while holding up to the pace and conditions of service.
It’s a considered intervention, one that shifts how surfaces can be approached. Not as fixed elements, but as something open to adaptation through collaboration.
A direction we’re interested in continuing to explore, where material, process, and use meet somewhere in between.
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Take me there
A collaboration in Barcelona, extending material thinking from coasters to the Eva trolley. Working with Weez & Merl, recycled plastic becomes both surface and statement, shaped through process and use.
Every year, the Behind Bars team meets somewhere in the world to step out of the day-to-day and align on what’s ahead. This year, we returned to Oslo — where it all started — bringing the team together for a few days of shared perspective, discussion, and direction.
