iota values – about design

The design at iota leads our day-to-day activities, alongside values such as community, fair trade and female empowerment. We believe that through design we can create change and make the world a better place.

We see iota as a start-up – its products are not software and the technology used is low-tech, but the rugs, swings and all the other merchandise are complex and smart, and iota’s technology, the crocheting technique, is a handcraft passed from generation to generation. iota’s design goal is to challenge the perception of what can be done using hand techniques. We design innovative products from a traditional starting point.

At iota we share a vision of preserving the handcraft of crochet and revising its patterns and proportions to create a new aesthetic and uniquely designed pieces. We work with simple and effortless shapes. The yarns we design are very special, so we prefer to lean on our raw materials and produce useful products with a twist. Textiles have an immense emotional and nostalgic presence and it is important for us to pay attention to the cultural or historical contexts of the craft with which we work.

We explore the fine lines of the ugly and the beautiful, the boring and the inspirational, the nostalgic and the up to date.

iota’s hand work is carried out by women working from their homes. iota’s team teaches them the skill of crochet and provides work for them. We believe in women empowerment and giving back to society. When designing, we take into account that these products need to be created in homes, not in factories.

“Imagine if every designer, architect, artist, chose a product based on social impact, the world would inherently become a much better place, and the industry would adapt.” Tal Zur