I am currently reading an advanced, uncorrected copy (galley) of The Toaster Project by Thomas Thwaites. For his thesis project at the Royal College of Art, Thomas decided to build a toaster from scratch, that is, to source the raw materials and process and form them into the constituent parts that make up a typical, cheap toaster.

Step 1. Acquiring Iron Ore from Thomas Thwaites on Vimeo.

His website with more videos of the process is here.
It is a quick and interesting read, particularly for product/industrial designers as it shows the complicated and environmentally unfriendly processes that are necessary to produce most of the objects around us. The book underscores how far removed consumers and designers are from these processes in part because the resultant products and materials are so cheap and easy to acquire.

This is a timely project as we, as both consumers and designers, are beginning to address our unsustainable lifestyles and business practices.

It also cool to watch someone smelt iron ore in a microwave!