about us
Chong Shop is a new venture of Chong Office. Initiated as a fun passion project back in 2022, we talk, source, and experiment with things we see, hear, and feel in our daily lives.
Throughout our journeys, we explore conversations between forms, materials and functionality of everyday objects, venturing into new, endless possibilities.
Material responsibility informs how our creations come to life in a more mass-production context. Every piece is shaped through thoughtful processes and dedication to a sustainable future.
Keep scrolling to read more about how our ‘Deflated Balloon Hanger’ comes to life.
An inflated form, reconsidered.
from air to object!
Our ‘Deflated Balloon Hanger’ is a playful reimagination of a familiar everyday object.
First release comes in Pool Blue, Barbie Pink, Sunny Lime, Laundry White and Ink Black.
Sustainably made in Sydney, Australia from 100% Recycled Polypropylene (PP).
Initiated as a passion project back in 2022, it evolved into continued conversations about the relationship between fragility and permanence, experimentation and mass production, art object and utility, and material responsibility.
At the time, our founder, Casey Chong (alter ego: Chong Office), a Melbourne-based designer, was creating functional art objects in resin, exploring how materials, aesthetics and human interaction could converge into creations that were both sculptural and functional.
Having previously worked with PVC tubes in crafting a resin side table, ‘The Detachment (2022)’, she became interested in alternative methods of creating forms through casting and mould-making, particularly with common everyday objects we encountered.
Somewhere in this process, a balloon has crossed the mind.
A balloon might seem like an unlikely starting point for a clothes hanger. One is temporary, fragile and dependent on air; the other is expected to be durable, dependable and functional.
Yet it was precisely this contradiction that drew Chong in. She was intrigued by the possibility of translating a form associated with celebratory occasions, ephemerality and delicacy into an object intended for everyday use.
The earliest prototypes were cast in resin and silicone using inflated balloons as the starting point. While the outcomes were unique and visually compelling, they were heavy, inconsistent and ultimately impractical as functional hangers for everyday use. However, the subtle folds, wrinkles and tensions embedded within the balloon form itself have remained very intriguing and interesting regardless of the technical considerations. These traces have then become the foundation of the project.
As the development continued, Chong began exploring alternative materials and discovered recycled plastic as a more suitable medium, which led to a collaboration with Defy, a Sydney-based plastic recycling and manufacturing company pioneering closed-loop production in Australia. Together, they explored how the project could transition from experimental resin objects into a functional, manufacturable product.
Interestingly, this transition introduced new constraints and became a turning point of the project. Injection moulding required a significant reduction in weight and volume (from 1kg to 300g), making it impossible to simply reproduce the original form. Rather than proportionally shrinking the inflated balloon, Chong decided to ‘deflate’ it and appreciate technical specifications in production. The then constraints have brought in new perspectives and led to a significant conceptual design move.
Working closely with Defy, the form continued to evolve through numerous adjustments to proportions, hook dimensions and structural performance. Each iteration sought to balance functionality with the playful qualities and ‘air-filled’ essence that first inspired the project.
A balloon, of an ephemeral, air-filled, full-blown form, has been reimagined as a more permanent, functional and ‘half-blown’ existence.
The act of deflation transformed the object. The inflated volume collapsed into folds, creases and compressed surfaces, introducing a new layer of texture and character while preserving the essence of the original form. The resulting hanger appears suspended somewhere between expansion and collapse, as if a balloon had completed its original function and settled into a new purpose.
Begun with air, experimentation and curiosity, every ‘Deflated Balloon Hanger’ is now manufactured in Sydney from 100% sustainably sourced recycled polypropylene (PP), after over 3 years of R&D. Rather than adding dyes, the colours are created through carefully considered combinations of recycled plastic granules, resulting in subtle variations from piece to piece. These differences reflect the lifecycle of materiality: its previous life, the realities of the transformation process, and its new life and purposes.
The designer
Casey Chong is a Melbourne-based designer and artist whose works explore the relationships between materials, aesthetics, and the senses, bringing together eccentric yet functional artworks that border furniture, sculpture, and crafted objects. Utilising resin as the primary medium for her works, Chong has created objects ranging from stools and side tables to vases and drinkware over the past couple of years. She always explore possibilities in new mediums, particularly more sustainable materials, which have now led her to explore porcelain, recycled plastic, and many more to come.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, she moved to Australia in her early 20s, experiencing a diverse hybrid of cultural influences alongside her Chinese heritage. She embrace the ambiguity and contradiction throughout her creative process. The intimacy of personal interactions and experiences is always intertwined with the outcomes, bending the rules of what many consider traditional. It’s merely flexible.
Chong Office is an independent artist practice showcasing Chong’s spontaneous, ongoing works, processes, and explorations. The ‘office’ began as a personal platform in 2018 to share her creative processes and experiments, to collaborate with other creatives while studying furniture design, and then became a continued representation of her creative ‘alter ego’ in broader context.
Chong Shop, a new extension of Chong Office.
