If you were to walk into Orange22’s lab, a high-end design boutique located in downtown Los Angeles, it might not appear too different from your typical design house. It’s populated by a staff of dedicated designers wrestling with the arduous challenge of striking the perfect balance between form and function. “I think that as designers, we enjoy a challenge and solving that challenge, whether it's a design or new geometry,” says Dario Antonioni, the Founder and Creative Director of Orange22. Except that with their Botanist Blank Canvas Project, the challenges that the firm is taking on are far beyond the pale of traditional design dilemmas. Dario and his colleagues are tackling problems on a macro level – problems like cancer, AIDS, and the deterioration of the environment – and they’re using furniture to do so.

Dario established Orange22 in 1999 after becoming frustrated with the larger firms, and wanting to provide an experience for his clients that was more closely “tied to the emotional resonance of design.” Despite the fact that his studio was highly successful, Dario still felt something missing. “I find it kind of silly and sometimes I get this feeling of guilt when I get to come to my studio and design these things that come from the imagination. I get to make a living doing that,” he notes. “It made me want to contribute because I get so much joy out of that, that I kind of feel like I’ve never worked a day in my life.” And the concept for the Botanist Blank Canvas Project was born.

“Botanist is exactly just one vision, one idea. And it’s collaborate, create, and give back,” explains Dario. Along with his colleagues, he contacted other creative minds that they felt would relish the opportunity to make a difference and eventually selected eight accomplished designers to develop the initial line of Botanist furniture. Each of the designers were asked to put their personal touch on three pieces of furniture (a bench, coffee table, and end table), and select a charity that would be the beneficiary of the proceeds generated by the sale of the pieces. In order to accomplish their goals, Orange22 made a paradigm shift. Rather than the traditional pay structure between the designer and manufacturer, “[Orange22 gives] the designer a royalty that’s slightly less than the traditional standard, and then [makes] up that difference and [matches] that to a charity or foundation of their choice.” Another way that the Botanist Project bucks convention is evident in the manner in which they develop and introduce the products. “We invite the artists and then they design the piece. We unveil the piece for the first time in a public setting, which is very different than a traditional designer-manufacturer relationship. It’s usually done behind closed doors,” says Dario. And these methods provide a unique benefit. “It allows the end user to experience the designer and the relationship between the product in a different, more emotional way, because you’re learning about what’s important to these designers versus just some fancy product that's sitting on a shelf. It’s a way to reach an audience and send a message that’s greater and beyond just one individual.”

Dario and his team developed a way to make sure that the Botanist products themselves would make a difference, but the idea of factories full of churning machines don’t exactly conjure up images of eco-consciousness. “Creating a product that’s environmentally friendly and sustainable is another part of that challenge. So we ask ourselves questions as to what manufacturing technologies can we leverage that create less impact or what type of new material can we use – or old material – so that we’re benefitting the environment in the best way.” Not only is protecting the environment a top concern for the Orange22 team, but it’s also of paramount importance to the designers that they partnered with for the project, the foundations that are involved, and the end users. In order to guarantee the greenest possible product, Dario and his colleagues employed innovative technology in everything from their production methods to their business models. The pieces are made out of recyclable aluminum, which in turn is partially comprised of recycled aluminum to begin with. Also, since aluminum is very lightweight, the fuel used during shipping is dramatically reduced when compared to more standard furniture materials. An electrostatic powder coating process keeps product on the furniture and out of the surrounding environment, and is far less toxic than classic paint and finishes. Additionally, since Orange22 employs “Just In Time” manufacturing, everything is made to order, so they carry no stock and excess waste is eliminated.

Dario and his team have had an overwhelmingly positive response to the Botanist Blank Canvas Project. They already have line-ups of designers through 2010, and the 2009 collection is expected to be released in late spring. “The most rewarding part of the Botanist Blank Canvas Project, so far for me and my team, has been the overwhelming support that we’ve had from our designers that we’ve reached out to and how they’ve just jumped at the cause to do something,” says Dario. Hopefully, his doctrine of utilizing collaboration to create positive change will resonate beyond the design community and ultimately help to affect and inspire the greater, global community. Dario has plans for Botanist in the more distant future as well. “My dream is to create a coffee table book called A Decade of Botanist: A Philanthropic Product. 80 designers and 80 foundations and how we’ve helped change the world.”