Waste Plastics, the problems and potentials from the lens of material science, design and craft technologies. Community centered and place-based, functional public art. Design workshops. Art as grief therapy.

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Professional Experience

Co-Founder of experimental design practice Thing Thing, specializing in creative re-use of waste plastics. Clients include Lear, Floyd and Today clothing. In 2019 he launched his independent practice Simon Anton Studio. Anton has worked as an designer/fabricator for Gildform, Donut Shop and Newlab amongst others. In 2020 he co-founded Got Grief House a Detroit non-profit supporting those experiencing loss. Educational experience includes developing undergraduate course Radical Materials at LTU, art classes within DPS and a robotics club with Oakland Ave Urban Farms.

Significant Publications, Presentations and Exhibitions

  • Full Circle: Waste Plastic Transformations, The Dennos Museum, Traverse City, MI, Aug 26
  • Plastic Future, Plastic Past, MContemporary, Ferndale, MI Jun 2025
  • Inside/Outside, Matéria, Detroit, MI Sep 2024
  • Agglomerations, Cedar North, Cedar, MI Jul 2024
  • Everlasting Plastics, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA Mar 2023
  • In Depth, MContemporary, Ferndale, MI Dec 2023
  • Everlasting Plastics, US Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy May 2023
  • Here x Now, Detroit Month of Design, Detroit, MI Sep 2021
  • Never Normal, Detroit Month of Design, Detroit, MI Sep 2020
  • Kindred Spirits, East Hawaii Cultural Center, Hilo, Hawaii Nov 2019
  • Substance, Detroit Month of Design, Detroit, MI Aug 2019
  • Form & Seek, Salone del Mobile, Milan, Italy Mar 2019
  • Works in Progress, Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor, MI Dec 2018
  • In Good Company, Fernando Mastrangelo Gallery, New York, New York Sep 2018
  • PLASTICSCENE, London Design Festival, London, England Sep 2018
  • Factory Floor, Dundee Design Festival, Dundee, Scotland May 2017
  • Footwork, Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne, France Mar 2017
  • Nuclear Family, 1.5 Rooms (with the Graham Foundation) Brooklyn, New York Oct 2016
  • Maker Maker, Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale Of UrbanismArch Dec 2015
  • Green Space, Culture Lab Detroit, Detroit, MI Oct 2015
  • READY-TO-HAND, PRESENT- AT-HAND, CVA Gallery, University of Toledo Aug 2015
  • Mobile Homestead Artist in Residence, MOCAD, Detroit May 2015 Detroit Creative Ventures Exhibition, College of Creative Studies, Detroit May 2014
  • CHICAGOLAND, Wanted Design, ICFF New York, NY Apr 2014 /DIALOGUES, Collectors Xchange, Expo ChicagoChicago, IL Sep 2012
  • Common Ground: 13178 Moran Street, Venice Architecture Biennale, Italy Aug 2012