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Fluffy rocks and growing textiles

4/4/2022

 
It has been a while since I wrote a blog. I was caught up in daily life. I thought I was self-aware and mindfull, working in this sustainability industry. But it turned out I was still running the ratrace of project- and family-goals like many others. And one day I woke up realising I made a multiple years plan for myself with the idea of being in control, but the universe decided otherwise and turned my life upside down. I needed time to take a breath and reflect on my place in the world. Letting go of the idea that I was in control and trusting the universe again. My creativity, gardening, yoga and walking in nature helped me heal again.

And it took me a while to realise I already found my meaning of life during my art academy time only lost it out of sight along the way. In 2005, my first year at the School of Arts in Utrecht, the teachers asked us to make a prognose of what might be important in 2009, the year we would graduate.

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My team in 2005 came up with sustainability, natural materials, slowing down to natures rhythm, eating healthy, having fun and craftsmanship. From that prognose I developed a cress-suit and placed it in toxic environments like the meat-, sugar- and fastfood-industry.
And the year I graduated? 2009...I set up Refinity, a consultancy that helped designers to make eco-effective choices (thinking about the effect on the environment) by brainstorming and sourcing all sorts of flexible materials. Fits pretty well in the prognose don't you think?

After all these years we (the textile sector) have set good steps towards using organic fabrics, recycling and wearing secondhand clothing. It is getting mainstream. Hooray!

Now I think it is time to pay attention to local (natural waste stream) materials, slow down, adjusting to the pace of nature and minimalism. And that inspired me to make " fluffy rocks and growing textiles"
Can we live in harmony with nature? A more balanced live? The best of both worlds natural and artificial combined in our cultures.
  • Are we taking the time for living yet speeding up sustainability?
  • Can we be soft (feminine) and hard(masculine) at the same time?
  • Do we make products that are strong yet do not last eternally but biodegrade?
  • Can we source knowledge globally while using materials locally?
  • Is adapting a solution to the local needs possible?

These considerations inspired me to make the work of fluffy rocks and growing textiles. [Click for more photos]

Here is some more inspiration about growing textiles [30 minutes]:
Barcelona's fabricademy experimented with growing grass dress, algae shoes and kombucha textiles in 2020.
* I couldn't source back the artists of the shoes and table in my prognose picture from 2005. If you know from who they are let me know, because I always want to do right by the artist who inspired me.

Making repair sexy again

4/10/2018

 
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Sashiko Denim repair
Repairing textiles, why don’t we do it? It might have to do with our perception of perfection and the image of repairing. What is nature's way to repair? And if you want to repair, how do you do it?

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Design for disassembly haberdashery

4/8/2018

 
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When designing for disassembly in the textile sector there are multiple challenges. For example yarn blends that make separation of the fibres difficult, coatings and haberdashery. This time I would like to share with you some alternatives for haberdashery.

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3D textile printing

27/6/2018

 
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Fabricate
3d printing of textiles is such an interesting topic! I wrote about it earlier, to tell you what needs to be done to make 3D printing suitable for a circular economy. Now I found even more examples of interesting 3Dprint innovations that I would like to share with you.

Imagine if these were made of plastic from renewable materials and could be recycled again!

If you are looking for a 3D printer, take a look at the Creality 3D Ender 3 PRO (FDM Technology) I have not tested it myself, but they have good reviews. I have worked on the Ultimaker original for creating 3D textiles, but that one is a bit more expensive.

Enjoy and get inspired!
3D print solar cells
Axios armor
Fergal Coulter
Closing mechanism
Danit Peleg
Fabricate
Flexible door opening
Flexible metal
Digits2Widgets
Maria Mora-Sanchez
Mark Beecroft and Laura McPherson
Pringle of Scotland

Decorating textile techniques

27/2/2018

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Some blog subjects stay an important topic for years. Decorating textiles in an eco-effective way is such an topic. In this blog article I would like to show you some inspiration. Some already older and some more new, but all applicable to circular design.
By using materials that can be easily separated many decorating options are possible. Sometimes techniques are combined. For example a material can be folded and then heated (memory melting) to remember the fold. Or layers can be created through lasercutting.
Layers
Folding
Weaving
Zero Waste Patterns
Modular
Memory Melting
Laser etching
Interlocking systems
Laser cutting
Colouring
Punching
Smocking
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Removable prints, the story continues...

30/1/2018

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Faering blog on Linked In
In 2012 I did research after the possibility to remove prints from textiles. Because everything is temporary. That is the way we should look at decorating our textiles too. People change, but their clothes do not change with them. We stop wearing our clothes when we are tired of them, while prints are permanent. What would happen if we have the possibility to replace prints on textiles? In other words, to remove prints and add new ones to make fabrics last. This method would combine short (fashion) cycles with long raw material cycles.

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Dissolvable yarn used in workwear: disassembly is possible

28/3/2017

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Three years ago I wrote an article about a dissolvable yarn that makes disassembly possible. At that time the yarn was a prototype and not yet for sale on the open market. But now, three years later Groenendijk Bedrijfskleding made safety vests with this yarn. Sander Jongerius, CSR manager of Groenendijk Bedrijfskleding tells about their development process.

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The tetris of design: Zero Waste Pattern Cutting

26/2/2017

 
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Timo Rissanen
To create zero waste with a textile design there are multiple options. For example fully fashioned knitwear, 3D printing or not designing at all (probably not your preferred option). The most known option is Zero Waste Pattern Cutting (ZWPC) and in this blog article I am going to give a few examples.

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Collective for textile interlocking systems

18/12/2016

 
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I love interlocking systems because they make design for disassembly, repair and reuse possible. This time I found one which I would like to share with you because it goes beyond concept, you can actually buy these items and wear them.

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9 shifts to make a circular textile economy possible

27/9/2016

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I am writing blog articles since January 2012. Cradle-to-cradle was the main subject, focussed on which materials and techniques make textile products suitable for biodegradation or recycling. Ones in a while it is good to take a broader view and see the shifts that are needed to make a circular economy possible, that is what I will do in this article.
Why a circular economy? Take a look at this (Dutch) video:

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