Quintus Kropholler not only has and outstanding name but abstract creative vision to match.  To highlight the impact of diminishing petroleum supplies the Dutch designer has created the Black Gold homeware collection – two bowls, two vases, a book-stand, a small tray, a pyramid and a prototype bench - completely out of tarmac.

Tarmac, made from asphalt (a sticky, black, viscous liquid form of petroleum) mixed with rock fragments, most commonly found as road surface, has until now been overlooked as a household material. By creating luxury items from this finite material, Kropholler hopes to draw on petrol’s unique aesthetic, demonstrating its value in a different light whilst drawing attention to the environmental issues that surround it.

The objects will also become monuments to profligate centuries of oil driven industry. Designed to outlive the resource’s lifespan, they will eventually become a cruel reminder of how inefficiently we once managed the system of supply and demand, and like projects like Crustic, and a lot of work done by Studio Swine, make inventive use of an unusual material.