I'm curious about using modern materials in the same way Ötzi used what was available to him. There are so many unique materials around us that we simply throw away - we are swimming in glass, plastic, metal, all kinds of raw material that would have been worth a fortune only a few generations ago! If only our ancestors could see what treasures we throw in the recycling bin.

I've seen a couple videos on making plastic cordage and such by cutting bottles into spirals. Unfortunately, most fall somewhere in between "hardcore apocalypse survival soldier" and "tOtAlLy weiRd cRaFts you can do at home with only a zillion clamps and six thousand dollars of woodworking machinery". Even so, it's wicked simple and dead cool. My thought is that thinly-sliced plastic bottles can be made into cordage, and thick slices are just the right size for basket-weaving.

My first draft of this tool is just a razor blade clamped down onto a few washers. Works great but takes a long time to adjust, and is certainly not portable. I think it wouldn't be too hard to attach this sort of setup to a handle instead of to a table, in order to bring it out. Maybe out on the town, you know, and impress your friends by making cordage out of a beer can instead of smashing it on your forehead (equally impressive, but much less slöjdy).

For the future-half of my project, I want to focus on processing and crafting materials, not just simply using junk as it's found. One example would be a water flask: obviously a plastic pepsi bottle would carry water just fine in a post-apocalyptic world, but that doesn't reflect any kind of material knowledge or craft skill, which, you'll remember, is the whole point. For the purposes of this project I don't want to use anything as it comes. A plastic bag as a backpack? No, a backpack crocheted from the twisted strips of a plastic bag. A t-shirt as a bandanna? No, a bandanna woven from the stripped fibers of different t-shirts into a new and slöjdy pattern.

I've been talking to Tina Fung-Holder, an instructor here at North House and a junksmith extraordinaire. Growing up in British Guiana, she made toys and games and clothes and tools out of jungle plants and Imperial British junk. Living in Chicago, she transitioned to a fully junk diet, making baskets and jewelry of discarded objects and industrial materials. She's been a huge help in this project so far and I'll lean on her heavily during the process.

Above: Tina's sculpture "Tusk" made from paper towel roll tubes. Please note: everything is a material.