Hardware Reincarnation: the Electronic Vape Synth and Other Upstream Salvaged Circuit

This full-day studio invites participants to explore Upstream Salvage as a design method—a mindset that transforms broken, discarded, or obsolete electronics into sites of creativity, experimentation, and care. Building on the “Vape Synth” project—a sound instrument created from recycled vape hardware—the session expands this approach into a collective workshop on re-use and unmaking. Participants disassemble vapes and other salvaged devices to build synthesizers and quick, tangible prototypes that reveal new interaction logics. Over the day, participants collectively experiment with transforming the fragments of salvaged electronics into quick, tangible prototypes that reveal new human-device interactions. Situated within global traditions of resourceful making, such as gambiarra (Brazil), jugaad(India), Shanzhai and Lajilao(China), and more, this studio explores salvaging as a process-oriented methodology for prototyping—working with materials that foreground improvisation, disassembly, and iterative discovery. Participants leave with a prototype, a documented process, and a collaborative zine of “salvage recipes.”