From UL to the Arctic and back
UL LINKS meets UL alumnus and sustainability product designer Christopher Barrett
Christopher Barrett on a glacier in the Arctic Circle
With a passion for the Polar Regions, UL Alum and sustainability product designer Christopher Barrett had the experience of a lifetime exploring Svalbard inside the Arctic Circle. His aim is to return.
WHEN Chris Barrett left University of Limerick in 2019 armed with a degree in product design and technology, he was set on a career path in furniture design with his own company – what he wasn’t expecting was a journey that would lead him to the most northerly settlement in the world some 1,300 kilometres inside the Arctic Circle in the pursuit of making a sustainable difference in the world.
Then 22, Chris left the UL Campus with a plan and a passion. “I made lifelong friends there (at University of Limerick), some great connections and yes, it is a time in my life to look back on very positively, but it absolutely flew. In my third and fourth year, I had an idea for a flat pack furniture business that would be easily assembled, and the tagline was no screws, no glues.
The mountains of Svalbard
From UL to the Arctic and back
UL LINKS meets UL alumnus and sustainability product designer Christopher Barrett
Christopher Barrett on a glacier in the Arctic Circle
From UL to the Arctic and back
UL graduate and sustainability product designer Christopher Barrett talks to UL Links about an epic adventure
Christopher Barrett pictured on a glacier in the Arctic Circle
With a passion for the Polar Regions, UL alumnus and sustainability product designer Christopher Barrett had the experience of a lifetime exploring Svalbard inside the Arctic Circle. His aim is to return.
When Chris Barrett left University of Limerick in 2019 armed with a degree in product design and technology, he was set on a career path in furniture design with his own company – what he wasn’t expecting was a journey that would lead him to the most northerly settlement in the world some 1,300 kilometres inside the Arctic Circle in the pursuit of making a sustainable difference in the world.
Then 22, Chris left the UL Campus with a plan and a passion. “I made lifelong friends there (at University of Limerick), some great connections and yes, it is a time in my life to look back on very positively, but it absolutely flew. In my third and fourth year, I had an idea for a flat pack furniture business that would be easily assembled, and the tagline was no screws, no glues,” he recalls.
The mountains of Svalbard
And so, Fox in the Box was born, but there was far more to come. A runner-up in the EY Ireland Young Entrepreneur gave the young Kerry graduate the capital needed to move his business along. Prototyping, product testing, and designing took Chris from Berlin to London but also opened doors to mentoring programs and more.
However, a love of the outdoors and adventuring would start the 180-degree career turn for Chris where his flat pack furniture business would become a part-time hobby, allowing him the freedom to start a role with an outdoor adventure company here in Ireland.
Expert knowledge from his university degree came in to play in the new role as Chris was now effectively living out his “dream job by designing and working for an outdoor pursuits company”. But it was an email that landed in Chris’ inbox that took him on a whole new trajectory again.
“I have been obsessed with polar travel and polar exploration my whole life. Being from Kerry, you know we would have been reared on a diet of Tom Crean and stories of his adventures and with my father coming from Dingle we would have passed through Annascaul quite regularly and and it was something I have always had an intense fascination with.
“And you know, when you are reading a lot online about the polar regions, cookies start to follow you around and I got pushed an email for a competition. Outdoor clothing manufacturer Henry Lloyd were funding one place on the Ocean Warrior polar sailing expedition, and I threw my name into the hat, and I made a video application.”
As an outdoor pursuits specialist and armed with the skillset from his design experience, Chris made the video application and submitted it 15 minutes before the competition deadline – “which was no different to my college years”.
A week after deadline, Chris was informed that he had go to a location in Dartmoor in the UK, six days later. Given just a GPS grid reference, Chris needed to be on location at 3pm the following Friday.
“There was no other information, so I just booked flights and arrived as one of the ten finalists for an intense weekend where one winner would emerge. I cannot give too much away about it because they keep the same structure for the selection weekends and there is an element of secrecy to it. But what I can say is it was incredibly challenging, and you know there is kind of a military style approach to it with constant surprises,” he adds.
The Ocean Warrior off the coast of Svalbard inside the Arctic Circle
Speaking about last Autumn’s voyage, Chris noted that the priority was to get to the Arctic, get on the ship, and work out the processes while there.
“The original intention was to do circumnavigation of Spitsbergen (the largest island in the archipelago), but it was quickly realised that that was an overly ambitious goal. So, we meandered in and out of the fjords along the western coast. A lot of what we did as well was mapping some of the seabed there that is officially unchartered. It just felt so beautiful. I adored it, it was gorgeous and the crisp weather too. Even when we had a bit of downtime over the ten days, I was always outside. It was amazing and even at that I could not describe it properly.”
What can be described as a profound experience, Chris said that because of it, he is looking at being part of the next 100-day expedition that would take the crew from Plymouth in the UK to Iceland, Greenland and then back to the UK. This career development and the opportunity afforded him through the Ocean Warrior expedition has broadened his desire to pursue further expeditions with scientific research.
“If I could do my own work or my own body of research that would be the dream really. I have the bug for this, and I am looking to have influence with the work we could do.
“Even though it was something I only threw my name into the hat for at the last minute, I did not expect anything of it.”
Through the photography and videography I captured, I wanted to bring back a positive story for people as there is a great sense in preserving these places and looking after them and when you hear kids that have such an interest in it, there is a great degree of promise in that and I feel really encouraged
"Through the photography and videography I captured, I wanted to bring back a positive story for people as there is a great sense in preserving these places and looking after them and when you hear kids that have such an interest in it, there is a great degree of promise in that and I feel really encouraged."
"Through the photography and videography I captured, I wanted to bring back a positive story for people as there is a great sense in preserving these places and looking after them and when you hear kids that have such an interest in it, there is a great degree of promise in that and I feel really encouraged."
“To use a worn out cliche, it has been life changing because it has given me the springboard into the type of career and the type of lifestyle that I want. And it has given me a tremendous deal of purpose within the last few months because when you're working in the outdoors in Ireland and you are working as a freelancer in design and photography, it can be difficult at times - you can kind of feel like you're falling between a couple of different stools.
“This was like the intersection of many of those things in which I was interested. So, it has had an enormous impact on me.
“I suppose the highlight for me out of the whole thing was the reception that I got here from people in Ireland. I really felt that the people in this country were behind me because many have said to me that it was nice to have a good news story for once.”
Chris now gives talks to schools and previous nerves about public speaking have long gone thanks to the receptive nature of those who he speaks to and how engaged he has found younger audiences to be on nature.
“I tried to bring as much of a positive impact as possible because obviously with regards to climate change, the Arctic and Antarctica are the two most vulnerable places in the world and they are incredible parameters for change as they impact the weather globally. Through the photography and videography I captured, I wanted to bring back a positive story for people as there is a great sense in preserving these places and looking after them and when you hear kids that have such an interest in it, there is a great degree of promise in that and I feel really encouraged.
“You never know how a photograph could inspire a kid or motivate them if they saw a picture of a hungry polar bear.
“But for others it is seeing a healthy polar bear like the one we saw in Svalbard, or it is seeing photographs of humpback whales who were on the brink of extinction 100 years ago.
“Their numbers have rebounded back to preindustrial levels, and I just feel like if there's a positive sense within the story, people would pursue that as a career and pursue the research in this and look for solutions.”
Chris said that in documenting activity in the Arctic regions, it would help break down the barriers that are created and “where people have become polarised on issues.”
“The middle ground is getting blurred, but I think we can have these respectful discussions about climate change and really see what is happening and be able to come at it from a respectful standpoint.
“Some do not like the idea of the climate changing, but I have been able to speak to people and show them, for example, videos of glaciers and caving to a larger extent than they would normally, and this has helped us to have better conversations,” Chris concludes.
