News Journal

Graduate Encounters with Becky Earley

2011-06-04T16:21:01Z

Becky Earley and I will be 'in conversation' next Wednesday 5th June at 5: 15pm, in the Lecture Theatre at Chelsea, as part of the CCW Graduate Encounters series.

The presentation will trace eleven years of conversations and collaborations – we have worked on research projects together sonce 2002 – and will look at the way in which our ideas evolved along parallel paths, both approaching the recycling of textiles from different creative perspectives.

Kate’s PhD project, uses laser technology to create new textile surface treatments and applications, enabling a monomaterial approach to design for reuse of textiles.

Becky’s Top 100 project work explores the reuse of polyester clothing, and has created new theory for upcycling textiles. Each set of shirts has been subject to experiments which explore ecodesign theory in practice. Technically the project has demonstrated upcycling polyester through the use of: digital overprinting; digital dye sublimation overprinting; heat photogram overprinting; laser etching and welding (with Kate); sonic cutting and slitting; detachability and multifunction; low launder; locality; emotional durability, and most recently co-creation.

In 2008 Becky and Kate created the Twice Upcycled shirts together (pictured) – taking recycled shirts from Becky’s Top 100 project and giving them another new life. The presentation will focus on this work, exploring the way in which the collaboration inspired the researchers to go on to pursue new independent work.

ISLAS 2011 Conference

2011-04-18T16:20:19Z

I recently presented work at the recent Industrial Laser Applications Symposium (ISLAS) 2011 in Warrington.

ILAS is primarily a technology dissemination activity centred on the UK laser community of researchers and end-users, and focusses on 'new developments in laser technology and the processing of materials for industrial applications'. The presentations were a mix of research and practical papers at all levels of specialisation, from the newcomer to the experienced researcher.

Janet Stoyel MBE presented a retrospective of almost 20 years of working with lasers for textile design and I was asked to add my observations on her presentation for publication in Issue 62 of 'The Laser User' magazine, which comes out in Spring 2011. Janet is owner manager of 'The Cloth Clinic' and has earned a reputation for her use of lasers in the world of textiles. Recently, as a parttime Senior Research Fellow, she established a laser department at the University of West of England.

The article was entitled 'Burn, Slash, Scorch and Stick - a personal testimony to the joy of creative working with lasers' and recounted Janet's experience of working with CO2 lasers since her MPhil at the RCA from 1992.

In response to her article I wrote:

Janet Stoyel’s groundbreaking work with the CO2 laser during her MPhil at the RCA marked the beginning of a whole new generation of designers, curious to experiment with laser technology for the manipulation of materials.

As well as working in the commercial arena, Janet can also be credited for introducing the laser to schools and universities, providing a way for young and emerging designers to gain first hand experience of this once inaccessible technology.

In turn this technology is also now a more accepted form of ‘hand’ making. The disapproval of the craft industries Janet describes is no longer a barrier for the budding techno-crafter. In fact design clusters such as Autonomatic based at University College Falmouth celebrate these digital processes as part of the craft-makers toolbox, and of “a digital manufacturing revolution that has the potential to enable mass customisation and highly responsive localised production, perhaps even in the home.”

The magic Janet describes in watching designs emerge from the laser’s path is something I recognise from my own experience. The laser with which I have chosen to ‘make my difference’ is the transmission laser, which I have been exploring as part of a PhD project based at Chelsea College of Art & Design (UAL) in collaboration with The Welding Institute (TWI). As Janet acknowledges, it is only ‘hands-on’ access to technology which can lead to an understanding of process and ultimately to innovation.

The thing that is particularly relevant for me is the ability of laser-finishing to replace the often harmful processes prevalent in textile finishing industries, saving water, chemical use and even transportation impacts between industries. There is potential for a whole new industry to develop, focused on local (UK based) production of high value materials which can be economically as well as environmentally viable. This is where I believe the laser can have a real impact on the sustainability and resilience of the textile industry.

Laser Finishing at the Textile LAB

2011-01-31T18:56:15Z

I was invited to run a 2 day workshop, at the Audax Textile Museum's Textile LAB, in Tilburg – a high tech industrial production unit that serves as a base for research, experimentation and the realisation of prototypes, samples and small production runs. The Textile Museum's methodology is to deepen the understanding of 'innovative craftsmanship' and its significance in relation to computer-controlled machinery and modern technology.

The workshop focussed on using their laser equipment to resurface synthetic materials as a continuation of my PhD project and the work on show in the current exhibition ReThink!

See the results of the workshop here

More info at:

http://www.textielmuseum.nl/textileacademy/workshops/workshops/upcycling-textiles.html

reTHINK! opens at the Audax Textile Museum

2010-10-01T16:56:55Z

It’s no secret that the textile industry works with some of the most polluting and energy/water intensive practices that are incredibly damaging to the environment. Wanting to address some of the issues related to sustainability and the textile industry, the Audax Textielmuseum in Tilburg initiated the part exhibition/part laboratory event reTHINK! Bridging design and industry, the exhibition unusually presents experimental projects from younger designers alongside developments from commercial industry.

“As a museum (with the possibility to experiment and produce on a small scale) we are anticipating and reacting on issues discussed in society,” says Suzan Russeler, curator European textile design at the Textielmuseum, who compiled the exhibition. The exhibition takes a process-based approach, examining all stages from design to end product and the potential waste or pollution its production and disposal could generate. In this way, the exhibition is divided into four themes which reflect the process of textile design production: 1. basic materials and yarns, 2. design & production, 3. wet processes (dyeing and printing), 4. recycling/ upcycling.

For each of these themes, conceptual projects are exhibited alongside products that could potentially influence the processes of mass production. In this way, more experimental ideas could perhaps feed into commercial processes, and besides, “reTHINK! demonstrates the urge for collaboration between designers, textile companies, technicians and scientists,” adds Russeler.

By Jeanne Tan / 30-09-2010

...more at http://www.design.nl/item/rethink

...also http://www.fashionnl.com/?p=1593

reTHINK!
25 September 2010 to 30 January 2011
Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg

New Work for Tilburg Exhibition

2010-09-02T14:14:55Z

I have just completed two new garment pieces - cut, constructed and finished using only laser technology - for the upcoming exhibition 'ReThink!' at the Audax Textile Museum in Tilburg.

More details to follow when the show opens later this month....

http://www.textielmuseum.nl/en/agenda?agid=674

Preview of Eco Fashion by Sass Brown

2010-08-31T07:37:50Z

Work from the Twice Upcycled project with R. Earley is featured in the upcoming publication Eco Fashion by Sass Brown. More info at http://www.ecofashiontalk.com/resource/rebecca-earley-kate-goldsworthy/

One of the strongest trends in fashion is the expression of ecological, social and community consciousness through for-profit fashion design corporations, which most recently have moved upscale from organic cotton T-shirts and hippy-ish drawstring pants to high fashion. There is now a wide range of companies offering well designed merchandise, from one-off art, recycled and redesigned clothing, organic and sustainable textiles and garment production, to a range of community and indigenous support cooperatives bridging the gap between traditional craft and high fashion.

This book shows the range of companies making a difference in the area of sustainable design in fashion, exploding the myth that sustainable design is bad design, or at best basic design, by highlighting the range of companies producing desirable and well-designed apparel and accessories with a conscience. It not only demonstrates the range of products available around the globe, but explains the stories behind them and the communities they support, as well as showing how and where they make a difference.

http://www.laurenceking.com/product/Eco+Fashion.htm

ISBN 978 1 85669 691 3
Published September 2010

Sass Brown is a full-time professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and lives in Florence, Italy, where she is Resident Director for its overseas programme. She has created collections for myriad manufacturers, from urban clothing for London’s trend conscious teenagers, to her own signature collection of women’s designer sportswear. She specializes in ethical design practices in the fashion industry and has worked with women’s cooperatives in Latin America, most notably COOPA-ROCA in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Trash Fashion Exhibition: Website Launched

2010-08-21T15:19:26Z

My exhibit is part of the 'to dye for' section:

Dyes and finishes cast fashion’s largest environmental shadow – more than 70 toxic chemicals are flushed into the world’s water systems. Many will stay in the water cycle for ever. How can technology light up a look and cut the chemical runoff?

Exhibition: ReTHINK! @ Audax Textile Museum, Tilburg

2010-08-09T08:42:00Z

I have been working on new garment pieces for the upcoming exhibition in the Netherlands.

Continuing on from the garment made for the Science Museum, these new pieces will also be fully formed and finished using only laser technology. The materials are 100% recycled polyester from TEIJIN and retain full recyclability through the EcoCircle process. www.ecocircle.co.jp

The incredible thing about working with a new technology such as laser, is how similar it is to any other craft process. Every time I use a new material quality or vary the laser settings even slightly I find a new subtlety in the resulting finish.

The exhibition reTHINK! can be seen at the Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg - 25 September 2010 to 30 January 2011

more info at

http://www.textielmuseum.nl/en/agenda?agid=674

Fashion made from recycled polyester? A chair made from resin and flax fibres? A machine powered by solar energy that produces textile objects? These are just a few examples of the many objects on display in the reTHINK! Exhibition in the Textielmuseum. The exhibition presents sustainable fashion, interior textiles and product design and examines the questions and dilemmas associated with the development of sustainable products.

We are surrounded by textiles, from the clothing we wear to our sofa upholstery and the carpeting at the office. The textile industry, however, numbers among the highest-polluting sectors. Creative minds from the world of science, industry and design are therefore exploring new strategies. Sustainability entails considering the entire process, from base material to recycling.

Designers experiment with the theme of “sustainability” in the TextielLab

Within the framework of the reTHINK! Exhibition the Textielmuseum has invited a number of designers to work on “sustainability” in the TextielLab. Curiosity about materials and processes characterise the work of Christien Meindertsma. The exhibition includes 3D knitting developed in the TextielLab. Meindertsma frequently uses Merino wool that she has shipped over from New Zealand. When searching for a supplier nearer home she discovered a sheep farm in Aarle-Rixtel, the only one that breeds Merino sheep in the Netherlands. She has used the wool from 25 sheep from this farm for her new knitting.

The Textielmuseum asked jewellery designer Willemijn de Greef, who often incorporates textile in her sensational necklaces, to use nettles as a base material. The design duo Atelier NL, known for their Uit de klei getrokken project, used the museum’s assignment to explore biodegradable base materials and yarns. In an experimental installation, Nadine Sterk and Lonny van Rijswijk, the two designers at Atelier NL, display the creation of yarns made from milk and potato peelings.

When making a textile product the refining process, such as bleaching, dying and printing, consumes a high percentage of water, energy and chemicals. Within the framework of the museum’s assignment, designers Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters have consequently examined the interaction between water consumption and the printing process. They exhibit the aesthetic, engrossing results of their Waterloop project at reTHINK!

Architect and designer Ina Meijer has designed a damask tablecloth. The plants used to create the dye for the colour design, recur as a woven structure in the damask.

Presentations by other designers

The Recorder One machine by the Austrian duo mischer’traxler is also on display. The machine was constructed within the framework of their The idea of a tree project and shows the interdependence of the processes. The machine, driven by solar panels, produces textile objects. Yarns are pulled through a dye emulsion and a glue bath and subsequently wound around a mould. Length, colour intensity and the thickness of the hardened object – for example a lamp or a seat - depend on the amount of sunlight exposure per day.

Fashion, given the rapid turnover rate of clothing and the poor social conditions in textile-producing developing countries, is a sector where sustainable thinking can have a big impact. Splendid examples of work by fashion designer Jan Taminiau, who innovatively applies old hand-craft techniques in his collection and uses second-hand materials, are on display in the exhibition. The designer, with his interest in sustainability, is a rare phenomenon in the world of high fashion. Rebecca Earley, a designer and teacher in London, is the initiator of the sustainable fashion project Ever & Again. Earley is exhibiting part of this project and new work. Kate Goldsworthy, textile designer and associated to the Central Saint Martins College – also in London, had designed articles of clothing made of recycled polyester, constructed and decorated by means of laser technology, for the exhibition.

Textile businesses

Implementing sustainability on an industrial scale is the objective of ten Brabant-based textile businesses that are working together in this context. In reTHINK! they present interior textiles and products under the title Duurzaam Huis.

The exhibition also offers a glimpse behind the scenes of two other Dutch companies. Brennels is a company that has been producing and developing sustainable threads, yarns and clothing with nettles as a base since 2006. Brennels collaborates with a farmer who cultivates the plant, and the company has a team of textile engineers in service. Carpet manufacturer Desso from Waalwijk is already far advanced with the realisation of a sustainable cycle from production and recycling, according to the cradle to cradle principle. Products are designed in such a way that, after they are discarded, they are either biodegradable or can be taken apart to serve as a base product for new high-quality products.

A number of companies are focusing on recycling the 200 million kilogrammes of clothing that we throw away every year - two-thirds of which end up in landfill sites.

Exhibition participants: Atelier NL, Fioen van Balgooi, Rebecca Earley, Kate Goldsworthy, Willemijn de Greef, Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters, Suzanne Lee, Christien Meindertsma, Ina Meijer, mischer’traxler, JANTAMINIAU, Studio Hil Driessen et al

And the companies: Johan van den Acker, Artofil, Best Wool Carpets, Brennels, Carpet Sign, Desso, DyeCoo, Ecological Textiles, Van Engelen & Evers, House of Intoxica, Innofa, Longbarn Company, MADE-BY, NPSP, Pastoe, Print Unlimited, J.A.Raymakers & Co., Rubia Pigmenta Naturalia, Van Wees and Van de Bilt zaden en vlas.

TextielShop

During the reTHINK! Exhibition the range of products in the TextielShop will chiefly comprise products that have been recycled or produced in a sustainable manner.

Conference

On Friday 24 September 2010 a Creative Search Conference Duurzaam Textiel will also be held in the Textielmuseum, organised by the collaboration of the ten Brabant-based businesses.

Workshops

Two workshops are being organised within the framework of the exhibition. On Friday 29 October 2010, Eco-Dyeing & printing with eucalyptus will be presided over by designer Wieteke Opmeer. In January 2011 Kate Goldsworthy will hold a workshop lasting a number of days as a continuation of her work on display in the exhibition.

Acknowledgements

Publicity communications and graphic design of the exhibition were developed by Van Berlo, Eindhoven. The exhibition was compiled by Suzan Rüsseler, curator of European textile design at the Textielmuseum.

Without a Trace: article for Viewpoint #26

2010-07-20T13:59:02Z

The latest edition of Viewpoint Magazine features an article on Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Design that I co-authored with journalist Dara Lang. It considers the state of sustainable design within the fashion and design industries looking at C2C as a way to consider a product's lifespan from beginning to end within the design process.

VIEWPOINT #26: THE NEW NORMAL

The 20th century agenda of constant novelty, rapid change and style over content has now given way to a more considered approach through well-thought out product, reduction, simplified design and longevity. Once a major source of pollution, design is now closely tied to cradle-to-cradle principles. Change is definitely going on. There is a 'new normal' that is different to the 'normal' of yesterday. And this change can only accelerate as we start to enter the world of the unpredictable as rapid advances in bio-engineering, nano-technology and robotics kick in...

More info at

http://www.modeinfo.be/EN/Viewpoint_26-product-51066.php

http://www.view-publications.com/content.html

'Trash Fashion' exhibition opens at The Science Museum

2010-06-29T21:28:21Z

Image: Science Museum

The opening night of the Science Museum exhibition 'Trash Fashion' in their new Antenna Gallery...

Britain loves high-street fashion. Tempted by rock-bottom prices we’re buying a third more clothing than we did a decade ago. But fast-changing fashions mean over a million tonnes of textile waste end up in landfill each year. This new exhibition investigates how the latest design and technology will help to create wear without waste and what we all can do to reduce the impact of throwaway fashion.

more info & images at

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/galleries/antenna.aspx

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sciencemuseum/sets/72157624272764768/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davepatten/sets/72157624254516763/