Turning mass produced into handcrafted

Jay Sae Jung Oh is a Seattle-based designer from South Korea who explores the intersection between art and design with unique and intricately made objects. In her practice, she transforms everyday objects into something new and extraordinary in assemblages that are at once art and craft. Jay’s ongoing Salvage series is composed of seemingly jerry-rigged structures made of household objects that have been intricately hand wrapped in raw leather. The manufactured plastic objects that lie beneath are transformed and unified into a sculptural design object. Her designs feature in the permanent collections of multiple global galleries, including the Smithsonian Design Museum and LACMA.

In this piece from the Salvage series, presented for Homo Faber 2026, Jay creates a chair from found plastic objects, bound together and covered with leather straps. Addressing the unsustainability of today's disposable culture, the work repurposes items that have been discarded and considered worthless. Jay believes that unlike fine art, design comes with more responsibility to provide better solutions. Most of her design inspirations are derived from the awareness of social issues including sustainability and abundant waste. “Our disposable culture makes me interested in objects that people waste and treat as worthless,” she says.