Soapstone

name designer: Inderjeet Sandhu

Bio of the designer: 

Inderjeet Sandhu is a Dutch-Indian designer based in the Netherlands. His practice centres around the home and the objects that surround us, exploring how larger political and social systems become embedded in everyday life. Working with furniture, domestic objects, materials and craftsmanship, he explores themes of migration, identity, belonging and power.

title: Soapstone

short description: 

As smoking becomes less present in everyday spaces, the ashtray is gradually disappearing from our interiors and public spaces. This work explores the changing role of the ashtray through two versions: one made from marble and steel, designed to outlast its original function, and one made from soap. The choice of soap is connected to ash: historically, soap was made by combining fats or oils with alkali derived from ash. Here, soap becomes the vessel for ash. Through use, it becomes smaller and gradually disappears, mirroring the disappearance of the ashtray from the spaces it once occupied. A material made to clean becomes a place where residue accumulates, while the object itself slowly wears away.

materials used: Soap, Marble, Steel

measurements: soap L 15cm x W 11cm x H 5cm

selling price: soap ashtray 120 Euro