Instead of just recycling it over and over, reasons designer Rania Elkalla, how about we move toward phasing plastics out entirely?

It’s certainly an ambitious notion, yet one that Elkalla’s “Shell Homage” concept addresses head on.

The product is made of egg and nut shells, which are ground to a fine powder, processed with vegetable dyes and biodegradable resins, and fired into rigid or semi-flexible sheets or blocks that can then be sculpted into accessories, light fixtures, furniture, wall panels… the applications limited only by one’s imagination.

The wall hooks pictured above look like they’ve been carved straight from some quartz-like monolith on Mars, but in fact they’re simply the egg and nutshell formula referenced above. This particular product won first runner-up in the 2022 Pure Talents contest at IMM Cologne.

Rania is currently hard at work developing the concept into a full-fledged commercial brand. In the meantime, Shell Homage has not escaped notice by the design world. It’s won or been selected for the Green Concept Award, Recycling Design Prize, European Product Design Award, A’Design, and Surface Design Awards.

Shell Homage also participated recently in the Material Matters show at London Design Week. The multi-colored material pictured above demonstrates its powerful design potential.

See Shell Homage to find out more.