Standing in the middle: bridging designers and the project market

Feeling the gap from inside a real project

Lately, I feel it every single day.

While working on a larger project, I’m constantly moving between two worlds that want the same future, but don’t yet fully meet each other. Designers creating strong, material-driven work with upcycled and circular materials. And the project market - builders, contractors, hotel owners - operating under pressure, responsibility and very real constraints.

The gap between them isn’t philosophical. It’s practical. It shows up when decisions need to be made, when timelines tighten, and when beautiful intentions suddenly have to function inside a system that wasn’t built for them.

And that’s exactly where I find myself standing.

Why good design alone is not enough

There is no shortage of talent in upcycled and circular design. On the contrary. I see designers doing incredibly thoughtful work with waste streams, materials and processes that deserve a place in real interiors.

But good design doesn’t automatically translate into a viable project solution.

In the project market, choices aren’t made object by object. They are made in relation to space, budget, durability, repetition and coherence. A chair is never just a chair. It has to sit next to other furniture, work within a concept, survive daily use, and make sense not once, but over and over again.

This is where many promising designs struggle, not because they aren’t strong, but because they haven’t yet been positioned within that larger puzzle.

The invisible work: understanding what exists, what fits and what works together

A big part of my work happens long before anything is placed in a space.

It starts with a very real and time-consuming exercise: understanding what is actually available today. What materials exist. Which designers are working with which waste streams. What can realistically be produced again, adapted or scaled.

From there, the next layer begins: what suits this specific project? What fits the spatial context, the atmosphere, the intensity of use? What makes sense in a hotel lobby versus a room, a restaurant or a circulation space?

And finally: what goes together?

Upcycled and circular pieces don’t automatically form a coherent interior just because they share good intentions. They need to be carefully combined, balanced and positioned so that they strengthen each other instead of competing. This curatorial exercise is essential…and often underestimated.

It’s not about collecting objects.
It’s about composing spaces.

Translation as a form of responsibility

Designers are trained to explore and push boundaries. Builders and project partners are trained to deliver and reduce risk. Neither approach is wrong. But without translation, both lose potential.

I don’t believe designers should simply adapt themselves to the project market. And I don’t believe builders should lower their expectations or “take a risk” without structure.

What’s needed is guidance in the middle. Someone who understands the creative ambition, but also the logic of projects. Someone who can help designers think beyond the object, and help project partners see upcycled design not as uncertainty, but as a deliberate, informed choice.

That translation work is not glamorous. But it is essential if we want circular and upcycled design to move beyond one-offs and become part of everyday interiors.

A deliberate choice for builders

I also want to speak directly to builders and project partners.

Choosing to work only with circular or upcycled furniture is not idealistic. It is a strategic decision. It forces clarity from the start. It shifts the conversation from endless comparison to intentional selection.

Yes, it asks more in the beginning. It requires trust, collaboration and guidance. But it also opens the door to better, more meaningful interiors and to systems that don’t collapse after one project.

The moment that choice is made, the real work can begin.

Ready to do the work

There is still a lot to figure out. I feel that deeply while working on this project. The questions are complex, the responsibility is real and the path isn’t always straightforward.

But I don’t feel hesitant anymore.
I feel ready.

Ready to stand in the middle.
Ready to do the work of understanding, selecting, combining and guiding.
Ready to help designers grow into the reality of projects, and to help builders choose circular and upcycled design with confidence.

This is where impact starts.

May Again works at the intersection of upcycled and circular design, technology and the project market. From within real projects, we curate, translate and guide - helping designers understand what projects truly need today, and helping builders make deliberate choices for circular and upcycled furniture.

Our work begins long before installation: mapping what exists, selecting what fits, and composing coherent interiors where upcycled pieces strengthen each other and the space they inhabit. We don’t catalogue objects. We build clarity, structure and confidence so circular design can scale responsibly and meaningfully.

Image credits: Photo by Mota ehdaei on Unsplash