Little Bundles Of Fibre

Notes Taken From The Second Lecture:

Felting:

-> No harmful emissions

-> Energy consumption is relatively low

-> Monomaterial end products possible

-> Easily recyclable

-> Most fibrous materials can be processed

Felt is one of the oldest ways of making fabric.

It is thought to have been around for about 8000 years.

On an industrial scale its production is very similar to needle-punching.

Felting happens because every strand of wool is covered by tiny scales. The primary mechanism of felting is abrasion. As the individual hairs get rubbed together the scales catch on each other, and the effect is that the whole thing shrinks in an irreversible way to make a mat.

Heat and alkalinity will both help the scales to open out and will speed up the whole felting process.

Can produce from tissue like layers to solid 3D forms. If this is combined with recycled fibres then exciting solutions could be explored.

-> One of the oldest fabrics known to man, felt is made in the simplest and most honest of ways; the matting and bonding of woollen fibres in the presence of heat and moisture. Humble, renewable and remarkably versatile, felt has traditionally surrounded Hive’s.

Hive is an award winning interdisciplinary design partnership specialising in furniture, lighting, interior accessories and design. Formed in 1998 and based in the Oxo Tower on London's South Bank, the work of the studio combines the production of commissioned projects in both interior and product design with the development of its own range of hive label products.

Inspired by these qualities, and working in the spirit on which the studio is based, the collection presents a range of familiar objects reformed with the emphasis on felt. The feltware collection was produced in 1998 and was the first collection to be launched for Hive's own label.

Picture is from: http://www.hivespace.com/docs/products/products_acs_frm.htm

->Moss

Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Moss has continuously presented, through highly curated exhibitions in its now-iconic SoHo gallery, as well as its installations at Design Miami, the ever-evolving rich dialogue between Industrial Design and Studio Art, illuminating the intersections of various disciplines as they merge and morph, fluidly crossing boundaries and breaking taboos surrounding function, decoration, art and design. Championing the work of narrative as well as process-based conceptual artist/designers such as Maarten Baas, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Studio Job, Tord Boontje, Gaetano Pesce, Hella Jongerius, Tom Dixon, Arik Levy, and Andrea Salvetti, Moss articulates the vital thinking that is inherent in their works.

http://www.mossonline.com/gallery-exec/display/home

http://www.mossonline.com/gallery-exec/display/current_200911_remains

-> Claudy Jongstra

(born 1963) designs and produces unique felt fabrics for interiors. She works together with architects and clients around the world to create unique pieces for specific spaces and purposes. Each Claudy Jongstra design is a one-of-a-kind object of contemporary design, partly handmade and incorporating traditional craft techniques and innovative skills. Thanks to her innovative technique, Claudy Jongstra designs can be produced in any format and in any colour. The result can be used as a wall hanging, adhered directly to a wall, or it can be used to cover other surfaces, as a tapestry, or as a fabric, for example, to cover space dividers.

http://www.claudyjongstra.com/node/15

-> Moorhead & Moorhead

is a New York-based architecture and industrial design studio, formed in 2000 by brothers Granger and Robert Moorhead. Driven by the inventive aspects of design, their work explores issues of function and materiality at scales ranging from furniture to architecture.

Collaboration is inherent in the M&M design process. At the core of the work is the pairing of their distinct backgrounds in architecture and industrial design. Each project is a unique synthesis of design, detailing and fabrication. In addition to their ongoing internal collaboration, M&M teams up with a diverse group of outside designers, fabricators and consultants on a project by project basis. Experimentation is fundamental to their work. The M&M studio includes a prototyping shop that allows us to push materials to their limits. Full-scale in-house explorations facilitate inventive design solutions for a wide range of clients.

http://www.moorheadandmoorhead.com/

->Elaine Igoe 

has developed a technique where paper pulp is diluted into a water solution and fired at a gauze fabric to create textured patterned surface. http://www.rca.ac.uk/Default.aspx?ContentID=502327&GroupID=502323&Contentwithinthissection&CategoryID=36647

->Boudicca / Savithri Bartlett 

Non-woven fibres using thermoplastic polyester (Wellbond) Low-melt and high-strength