is no longer an alien concept to high-end manufactures who are becoming more and more receptive to trot uncharted, non-lucrative product territory. Today, terms like Recycling, Eco-friendly, and Nature Conservation no longer serve as roadblocks but instead seem to propel the design process further.

Tables from the Cappellini Love Collection. Designed by Stephen Burkes.

This trend was also dominant at the Milan Furniture Week, and the Cappellini Love Collection, by designer Stephen Burkes, signifies the blending of art with environmental consciousness. Comprised of vases made of glass fragments and an assemblage of tables made of recycled paper, this Collection is an inexorable pursuit of the higher truth and man's moral responsibility to his surroundings.

Burke who is a devout environmentalist, has enlisted indigenous South African artisans, and will then teach them special paper Mache techniques so that they can mass-produce the collection. Interestingly enough, the prototypes were made from old magazines owned by the designer himself, and for the surface a non-toxic hardener was used. The end result? A medley of lush colors and animated graphics that bask in the atmosphere of heightened creativity.

Flamboyant and cacophonous, the Love Collection is an unprecedented display of riotous imagery. It also successfully encapsulates the prevalent eco-conscious thought process and is a true reflection of a generation's cultural ethos. However, it is not just about idealism, as Burke admits that he is motivated by business too.

"My goal has been to try to integrate hand techniques with an innovative approach to the structure of the design and then find international distribution. It’s business and design; I don’t think the two are independent.”