Better Design with Constraints

We all have limitations - time, space, money, relationships, location.

These boundaries, uncomfortable as they can feel, often form the foundation of better design.

For a long time, I thought freedom meant possibility. But freedom without boundaries is endless and directionless. Imposter syndrome and perfectionism would slow everything to a halt before anything could begin.

Single motherhood added its own set of constraints- time, energy, finances. At first, they felt like barriers; now, they’ve become structure. Scarcity has a way of sharpening perspective. You learn to design within the life you have.

When researching basketry in the Philippines - heavily pregnant, painting a belly on a continuous loop, surrounded by native basketry books- it became an obsession. Once my baby was big enough to fly, I met the weaving communities I had read about: women working remotely in mountain regions, creating from what was available to them.

It was there that I realised the design was never the most important part. The work revolved around the women - their time, tools, rhythm, and knowledge. The design served the community, not the other way around.

That lesson became the quiet backbone of Uri: design led by people, material, and values.

Money has been another teacher. I’ve poured too much into products that didn’t make sense - pieces that took too long, or materials that didn’t align with purpose. Now, if something takes more than a day to make, even after refining, I leave it be.

The finest fabrics aren’t always the right ones. The best designs often start with what’s already there - a remnant, a constraint, a problem waiting to be solved. Working from the material backwards has become a kind of compass.

Waste not, want not.
No money, no problem.

Everything is figure-outable, but time is not infinite.

Constraints shape every part of this practice: working around childcare hours, a tiny garden studio, and the skills of our small network of collaborators. When values sit at the centre of design, they naturally create boundaries - and boundaries make better work.

Uri’s first collection, built with women’s weaving communities and fibre farms, carried many limitations: timelines, skill levels, production volumes, even the physical weight of what could be shipped. But those constraints didn’t restrict creativity - they defined it.

Working from the supply chain backward, rather than ego forward, changed everything.

In the end, constraints don’t make design harder - they make it altruistic……They make it human.