Last night saw the opening of 'Power of Making' at the V&A Museum in London. Curated by Daniel Charny, the show is produced in association with the Crafts Council. For this exhibition I chose to prototype a bag idea I'd had for some time. I'm keen to focus on the leather-like qualities of microbial cellulose and a 'tote' bag represented a simple form that would test the material and trial a new construction method. A wooden form was made from MDF, modular, it is designed to dismantle and release the dried, moulded bag. Metal studs were hammered in a simple decorative pattern that describes the shape of the bag and which, from previous experiments, were expected to cause oxidation thereby effecting an organic black patination. Wet cellulose was cut and laid over the wooden form with a double layer over the bottom for reinforcement. All edges were overlapped to encourage strong seams with evaporation. Handles were also bonded using this method and seem to be pretty strong though the bag hasn't yet been tested for weight tolerance!

Before installation at the V&A.

Stored on mould, showing one 'perfect' side..
Other side showing circular 'plasters' : wet rounds of cellulose used to patch holes in the wet sheet, these bond to the main material with evaporation - kind of self-repairing. You might say that holes are undesirable as they signify imperfection but for now I quite like their inclusion as they reveal more of the story (and possibilities) behind both the material and its production process.
Wet material on mould with addition of handles.
Wet material first applied to wooden form. Sides showing edge overlaps. A few days later showing beginnings of oxidation.

Studs marking pattern for hammering and internal view.

Finished modular MDF mould.

From the exhibition guide:

'Power of Making is an exhibition about the breadth and depth of craft's presence in modern life. The featured objects have been selected to highlight both age-old skills and contemporary techniques, from traditional stone walls to machines that can make other machines. Each exhibit demonstrates refined craftsmanship, meticulous control or ingenious application'. 

What the gallery information doesn't mention is that the BioCouture ToteBag is created using living microbes. Whilst the hands-on nature and small scale-production of this bag (a one-off) is more akin to craft, the intention behind this research is to prototype a recipe and method of production that can be scaled up industrially.

As part of the V&A's education programme I will be hosting a 'show and tell' in their FabLab on 10th December 2011, check back nearer the time for more info.

It's been a major TED week! As a new 2011 TED Fellow I was fortunate enough to attend TED in Long Beach and this year's theme was 'The Rediscovery of Wonder'. I gave two talks, the first at the Fellows pre-conference in which I outlined the basic process of growing microbial-cellulose using a kombucha culture, the second, for TEDU (University), was a more contextual overview explaining why you would want to do this and imagining a future where we look to harnessing microorganisms to design and grow sustainable products for us.

Of the hundreds of talks given each year it is a great honour to be selected to go on the main TED.com site, not all talks go up and certainly very few Fellows. The TED team edited my two talks together so it is slightly longer - they united the process with the context.  I'm thrilled my talk has gone up this week. Please check it out and feedback any comments.

I also was privileged to be invited to speak as part of TEDx LondonBusinessSchool here in London last Friday. Held at the Bloomberg Auditorium in the City, their theme was 'Disruption' and they had a fantastic line-up of speakers. Shamus Husheer of Cambridge's DuoFertility showed how a constant body-monitoring sensor system can help women track their fertility so accurately that this non-invasive method offers a viable alternative to highly invasive IVF. He showed some impressive comparative data that meant he was pursued afterwards by women-of-a-certain-age all keen to learn more!

Tom Hulme, Design Director of IDEO London, talked about 'How Disruptors are Designing for the Future' giving examples of services like Digital Forming that allow lifestyle brands a way to offer bespoke, online, customisable products to customers using 3D software and printing. His message was that the future is about 'design for participation'.

LBS MBA student, Khaled Tawfik, spoke emotionally about his first hand experience of the Egyptian uprising. He was sitting in his parents kitchen in Cairo when he noticed that first their phone signals disappeared and then the internet went down. Khaled knew something big was happening and the next they heard was a tank rolling past their window. In the following days, with the withdrawal of any security from the Police, he and others in neighbourhoods all over the city were forced to defend each other and their property with whatever weapons they could arm themselves. Instead of taking on a London-based internship this year Khaled has now chosen to return home to help build a new Egypt.

There were too many great talks to describe each but I'll just mention Andy Stefanovich of Prophet who encouraged us all to adopt a 'Museum Mentality' in every day life. Remember how you feel when you walk into an art gallery or museum and how inspired you feel when you walk out? Andy spoke passionately about finding a way to approach everything we do with that same sense of anticipation and inspiration.

I'm speaking at the above symposium in Berlin next Tuesday, 5th April at Haus der Kulturen der Welt. It is the second annual Green Design event organised by Greenlab based at Weissensee Kunsthochschule Berlin. My talk is titled "BioCouture – harnessing biological processes to grow future products". I'm particularly looking forward to catching up with Veronika Kapsali and hearing Tomas Libertiny, of the wonderful Bee Vase, (pictured above) talk about his poetic work.

"This year's theme is 'Learning from Nature' focusing on biomimetics and on nature as a model or inspiration for sustainable design strategies. During the symposium we are interested in investigating to what extent strategies for sustainable design can be generated and adapted from nature. We are looking forward to a wide range of presentations by international speakers who will be addressing topics and concepts such as biomimetics, bioengineering, slow design, symbiosis with nature, cradle to cradle and more, in particular focusing on good green design practices and strategies inspired by nature. Like last year, this one-day symposium should serve as useful input for design and art students as well as other interested parties."

The environmental design initiative GREENLAB based at the Art College Weissensee Berlin connects higher education, practice-led research and the industry to support, inspire and create innovative approaches to sustainable and eco friendly products and services. Through research and collaboration, this practiceled design research institute aims to critically analyse and give a material form to concepts that balance ecology, society and culture by employing design methods and strategies.

 

Helen Fink, a molecular biologist from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has been investigating the use of bacterial cellulose to create artifical blood vessels. She used Gluconacetobacter xylinus, (previously known as Acetobacter xylinum), the same cellulose-producing bacteria I use in BioCouture.

The cellulose is strong enough to cope with blood pressure and works well with the body's own tissue. Fink's thesis shows that the material also carries a lower risk of blood clots than the synthetic materials currently in use.

"There are hardly any blood clots at all with the bacterial cellulose, and the blood coagulates much more slowly than with the materials I used as a comparison," says  Fink. "This means that the cellulose works very well in contact with the blood and is a very interesting alternative for artificial blood vessels." 

Real blood vessels have an internal coating of cells that ensure that the blood does not clot. Helen Fink and her colleagues have modified the bacterial cellulose so that these cells adhere better.

"We've used a brand new method which allows us to increase the number of cells that grow in the bacterial cellulose without changing the material's structure," says Fink.

The biocompatibility of bacterial cellulose is already exploited commercially for wound dressings and it's exciting to see this material being explored by tissue engineers who harness scaffolds to build 3D biostructures.

Bloomberg Businessweek are profiling some of this years TED Fellows prior to the conference in Long Beach which kicks off in just over a weeks time. My interview covers some of the questions I'm frequently asked about the BioCouture project.

 

BioCouture has been investigating the use of microbial cellulose as a textile. One question is 'Is it possible to extend the range of material qualities by introducing different substrates?'. These are some experiments exploring the addition of various substrates to grown cellulose. There are two main techniques shown, during the growth process and after. Firstly, I tried taking a wet, grown cellulose sheet and placing it on different textile substrates so that as the water evaporated the fibres from the cellulose 'pick up' those of the substrate. The first 5 images (above) show cotton mesh (wet and dry), hemp net, lace and wool mohair.

Initially all the samples worked to some extent, the substrates all appeared to have penetrated the cellulose. However with force applied, either by manipulating the cloth or trying to pull the layers apart, some performed better than others. The smaller cotton mesh stayed completely trapped unlike the larger, more open hemp net which looked embedded but was relatively easy to seperate. The lace sample could be teased apart quite easily but left its embossed pattern behind on the cellulose while the wool mohair was probaly the least integrated and happily came away leaving behind a few longer fibres. The conclusion was that this method was really only suitable for the open, small holed cotton mesh. In creating a cellulose/cotton mesh composite the cellulose dictates the dominant material quality, it retains its strength and removes the stretch from the mesh which is now trapped with no expansion. This led to thinking about non-stretch nets, both cellulose and nylon and embedding them during the growth process.

These three samples were created during cellulose production. The first sample is a fine nylon net which was allowed to float on the liquids surface so that as the cellulose formed it grew into the net. The second was created by allowing the cellulose mat to begin forming on the liquid surface and then, when it reached about 7mm in thickness, lifting it up and inserting the wool fibres so that the cellulose fibres would trap it in subsequent layers. The final sample is cotton mesh inserted in the culture liquid halfway through cellulose production, as with the wool. All 3 samples produced composites that fully embed the substrate within the grown cellulose. Although the additional fibres change the appearance of the cellulose they cannot change the structure which, in a static culture forms in layers at the liquids surface. So while visually there is novelty the fundamental qualities of the cellulose remain unchanged. For this reason there is limited advantage in pursuing this line of enquiry. In order to change the material quality in a radical way, for example creating stretch within the cellulose, a more likely solution is to be found via chemical engineering and, ultimately, synthetic biology.

 

This piece has just shipped to the ModeMuseum in Hasselt, Belgium to go in their 'Alter Nature: The Future That Never Was' exhibition. It explores visions of the future from the past, and the possible future of tomorrow (see my book). Featured are the influential Space Age couturiers of the 60s; Paco Rabanne, André Courreges, Pierre Cardin and Rudi Gernreich alongside contemporary designers working with innovative materials, processes and new social and environmental concerns.

I've wanted to make a piece for some time that played with how grown microbial-cellulose looks uncannily like human skin. When wet it can be formed over 3D shapes so this bodice was constructed by applying a pattern of dried beans to a wooden body form and allowing the wet cellulose material to dry down onto it. It took about a week before it could be lifted off, I then sewed in a conventional zip fastening (as yet there is no biodegradable alternative). The scarification pattern was inspired by various African tribal markings. The bean shape is similar to the (microscopic) bacteria which produce the cellulose so there's a resonance that appeals to me, ghosts of the nanofibril factories that spun the cloth.

The show opens Saturday and runs until June 2011.

A quick note to say I'm moderating a salon at The Royal Academy tonight. Titled Future Forward: Forecasting Art, Fashion & Identity it accompanies the GSK Contemporary exhibition Aware: Art Fashion Identity.

I'll be encouraging our audience to engage with 3 trend-forecasting professionals; Martin Raymond and Chris Sanderson, co-founders of The Future Laboratory and Helen Palmer, Head of Materials and knitwear at WGSN. We'll be probing future fashion trends and how designers and consumers shape them.

Can't think of a better way to start 2011 than with the announcement that I've been made a TED Fellow. TED is a nonprofit organisation that promotes the sharing of ideas through its conferences, events and free to view online talks. It's a great opportunity to see some of the worlds' greatest thinkers in action; previous speakers have included Al Gore, Stephen Hawking, James Cameron, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Annie Lennox and Michelle Obama. The theme of TED2011 is The Rediscovery of Wonder so I look forward to sharing some of the wonder of BioCouture with a wider audience and meeting all the inspirational 2011 Fellows.

Following on from our selection as Number 15 in Time Magazine's Top 50 of 2010 we were also thrilled to be selected for the NY Times Magazines 'The 10th Annual Year in Ideas'.