tag.werk tea.towel. Collaborating for the Healthy Earth Club

2025

Design and collaboration.

"Design ab Werk" (English: Design from the factory) is a project celebrating the 25th anniversary of tag.werk, in collaboration with the local design network "Creative Industries Styria". The project connects local designers with young people working in the workshops of tag.werk – a youth employment project based in Graz.

We proposed a tea towel, due to its striking simplicity: a high-quality piece of fabric, screen-printed with a bold, positive print – creating a usable fabric-poster with a positive statement to brighten up your kitchen.

The geschirr.tuch (tea.towel) invites you to join the "Healthy Earth Club" – a reminder that we’re all part of a better, kinder future for our planet.

The towel itself is a traditional "Grubentuch", woven by Kracht in Germany from 100% cotton. Known for its unique checkerboard-like weave, it’s highly absorbent and long lasting. Each towel is screen-printed by hand with love in the tag.werk print workshop. The extra-large format makes it both practical and statement-worthy.

The photo campaign reimagines the tea towel beyond its everyday kitchen environment, placing it in unexpected and surreal settings, deliberately exaggerating its functionality.

The campaign was shot on Kodak Portra 400 medium format on a Hasselblad 500C/M and on Kodak Gold 200 on a Yashica microtec. Additional images and videos are digital.

"Healthy Earth Club Membership Agreement" (as featured on the packaging):

Love all horses.
Be kind to our planet.
Stop greenwashing.
Stop socialwashing.
Just towelwashing.

Services

Concept
Design
Illustration
Photography
Packaging
Campaign

Credits

Christian Leban. Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography
Tessa S. Huber. Photo Concept, Photography
Sophia Stöhr. Art Direction, Video

A massive thank you to our amazing collaborators and everyone who made this project possible!

tag.werk
"Design ab Werk" initiators, organization and screen printing

Creative Industries Styria
"Design ab Werk" initiators
Thomas Perz. Curator

Additional support by
Leftkiss. Film printing for screen printing
Lorenz Stelzl. Screen development for screen printing
Kracht. Production "Grubentuch" towel
stoff.werk. Label application
Halb Parterre. Vintage tableware rental
Johannes Fischer. 3D modeling and 3D printing of the horse figurine
Gabriela Penic. Model and social media support
Blendpunkt Labor. Film development and Hasselblad camera rental
Chayenne (from Claudia Traisch). Horse model extraordinaire