Sarmite Polakova a material and product designer focusing on sustainable production methods. Originally from Latvia, she is currently based in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2015 Sarmite graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven where she developed a special interest in raw materials. Her body of work focusses mostly around transforming unassuming, natural materials into a new purpose and series of design objects through extensive theoretical and practical investigation. Sarmite combines experimental research with the manipulation of existing designing methods, which leads to a design language tailored specifically for each material. Thus, the design objects become the main carriers of the narrative. The current long-term projects of Sarmite are PineSkins and PineResin. Both projects address the tree cutting industry and its overuse of timber, pine wood in particular. The designer is proposing more balanced production methods that gives a central role to those parts of the tree that are usually left behind after the tree has been cut. The work of Studio Sarmite has been exhibited worldwide in design events like Dutch Design Week, Milan Design Week, London Design Festival, Shanghai Design week, Maison&Objet etc.
