Airbag pillows, woollen pizza and basalt-column urns were some of the highlights of this year's DesignMarch festival in Reykjavík.
Taking place in Reykjavík, the annual DesignMarch festival, which was held in May for the second year running, featured over 100 exhibitions and installations dotted across the city.
It kicked off with the DesignTalks programme at the Henning Larsen Architects, Batteriid Architects and Olafur Eliasson-designed Harpa concert hall, which was streamed live on Dezeen.
Read on for the eight most intriguing exhibits from the design week:
Presence by Ýrúrarí
Curated by Reykjavík-based Studio-Fræ, the Presence exhibition at The Museum of Design and Applied Arts Reykjavík showcased a collection of sweaters that were mended in humorous ways by artist Ýrúrarí.
With the collection, the artist aims to demonstrate intriguing and interesting methods of reuse. As part of the exhibition, which lasts until August, she will hold workshops to teach others the techniques used.
"The theme in the mending was to not only mend the flaws but also mend their image by bringing out a new friendly character to make it harder for anyone to throw them away again," Ýrúrarí told Dezeen.
"For the past years, I don’t mass produce anything but teach classes and share my approach with people to encourage them to try this fun way of mending on their own, bringing old knits out of their closets and making them interesting to be used again."
Airbag by Studio Flétta
Icelandic design studio Studio Flétta and Icelandic interior and lifestyle brand Fólk collaborated to create a range of airbag pillows that were displayed as part of an exhibition at the brand's pop-up space.
Made from discarded steering-wheel airbags sourced from European car dealerships, the pillows retain the pastel colour and bright embroidery of the airbags. They were filled with leftover jacket filling and mattress foam, then sewn together by non-profit Huset Venture.
Sky is the Limit by Daníel Atlason and 66°North
Also utilising leftover materials, designer Daníel Atlason from Segull Collective created a collection of 11 kites in collaboration with Icelandic clothing brand 66ºNorth, which recently opened its first London store.
Each of the kites was made from offcut materials discarded from 66ºNorth's manufacturers. Named Sky is the Limit, the exhibition aims to express the circular ambitions of the clothing brand, which is a certified B Corp.
Pizza Time with Flétta and Ýrúrarí
At interactive event saw designer Studio Flétta and artist Ýrúrarí set up a pizza restaurant serving visitors woollen pizzas made from leftovers from the Icelandic wool industry.
"We bought a felting loom that actually looks like a pizza oven so that's where the idea came from," Ýrúrarí told Dezeen,
"So now a lot of fabric that was literally in trash bags is hanging in people's homes as design/art pieces, that also remember the fun experience of seeing the pizza made and ordering it from a menu."
Aska Bio Urns
Made from recycled paper, the Aska Bio Urns are a biodegradable alternative to traditional urns, which were informed by the shape of the basalt column formations found in Iceland. During DesignMarch, the urns were displayed at design store Epal.
"Our products represent a circular approach to manufacturing, which harmonizes with the idea of everything returning to nature," said Aska Bio Urns.
Sea Urchin by Þykjó
Design studio Þykjó, which also spoke about designing structures for children during the DesignTalks conference, created its first outdoor pavilion for a square in Reykjavík.
Created from a series of frames, the dome-like structure was designed to be a protective shell for children within the city.
The Sea Urchin is an invitation to pause and an invitation to play in public space," Þykjó told Dezeen. "We hope it will be a place for passersby to slow down for a moment. It can offer a moment of solitude as well as a moment of connection or conversation,"
"We see children enjoying the element of surprise when meeting it on their walk, wanting to investigate it kinetically by weaving through it and exploring its shapes and textures with their hands.," they added.
Mist by Þórdís Erla Zoega
Artist Þórdís Erla Zoega used two-way mirrors and light sculptures to create the Mist installation, which aims to evoke the feeling of being in the Blue Lagoon geothermal pool.
"In the lagoon a stark contrast of a few select colors enter your perception," said Zoega. "The softness versus solidity meet in the middle and blur our senses. The mirror work is situated in the middle of the space and blurs the perception of viewers situated on each side of it, creating a very intimate experience of merging into another person."
The installation formed part of an exhibition showcasing the evolution of the Blue Lagoons branding over the past 25 years.
Hæ/Hi – Saman/Together
Opened by the president of Iceland, the second iteration of the Hæ/Hi exhibition aimed to celebrate the friendship between Reykjavík and Seattle, which has the largest Icelandic population in the USA.
The exhibition features a series of objects that were designed to encourage people to interact, work, play, or relax together, which were each created by pairing a Seattle-based designer with one from Reykjavík.
DesignMarch took place in Iceland during 3 to 7 May. For more events, exhibitions and talks in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.