7. BioFabricating Materials

goals of the week & contents

• Produce at least one grown and one crafted materials.
• Document the recipes, ingredients and process and if there have been changes.
• Name all materials, classify them by typology and display them in a systematic order of samples.
• Submit some of the swatches to the analog material library of the lab. (20cmx20cm aprox)

BIOMATERIALS

Biomaterials are crafted or grown materials derived from biological sources, such as plants, fungi, algae, animal by-products, etc., used to create sustainable alternatives to conventional materials. By harnessing renewable resources, biomaterials offer biodegradable, energy-efficient, and low-waste options, aligning material innovation with sustainability.

• Bio Based - Bacterial, Fungal, Vegetal, Mineral, Bio-ManMade and Animal.
• Bio Degradable - Degrade in specific conditions. Ph-sensitive, thermo-sensitive, enzymes.
• Bio Compostable - Composted within 90 days. Bacteria, Mycelium, Animal, etc.

PROCESS

• Crafted (casted and assembled) - Bio-plastic, -silicone, -resin, -foam; Fish-leathers; -plastics; Fruit-leather; Algae-leather, -yarn; unconventional Plant-yarns, tree, hair and coconut-mats.
• Grown - Microbial-leathers; Fungii-leathers; Lab Grown-leathers; Root-fabrics; Spider-silk.

Credit Structure Taxonomy Material Archive TextileLab Amsterdam. Cecilia Raspanti, Fabricademy BioFabricating materials lecture 2016-2023 CC-BY-NC-SA.

VEGETAL LEATHER

LEAVES, BARKS, ALGAE LEATHERS

Vegetal leathers are mainly composed by botanical parts, coming from plants that are either terrestrial plants or underwater plants.

Leaf leathers or bark leather look at readily grown biomaterials existing and abundant in nature, that hold certain characteristics of flexibility and work on maintaining those.

Algae leathers look at stretching these incredible underwater plants and treating them like animal hides, forming materials similar to hides for musical instrument making.

• Context-specific, promoting a local economy activation

• Waste of other industries, such as the woodworks industry

• Overly abundant because of environmental pollution

FRUITS, VEGGIES & FOOD WASTE

Fruit leathers, vegetable leather and other food waste based leathers look at finding and exploring alternative uses for materials that would otherwise be discarded when either unsold, not conforming to expected beauty standards or wasted because starting to decay and no longer considered fresh.

• Biobased & biodegradable

• Continuous material stream create more stable opportunities for the upscaling of a product

• Materials are context-specific - they can only make sense in the local context, depending on which materials are over abundant locally

• Promote cooperation with local horeca & markets

research and ideation

1. IVAN HUNGA GARCIA, kombucha leather modular dress; biotic leather thong; modular set of wheat grass and chia seeds.
2. EMMA VANDERLEEST, symbiotic mix of yeast and bacteria leather, dyed with natural pigments.
3. JASMINE LININGTON, seaweed yarn and beads.
4. SPIRARO, hydrated algae biomaterial sample; half dried bull kelp weave.
5. AMY BRENER, Flexi-Shield (sunrise) 2016.
6. YUHAN BAI, soil-leather corset and several soil-dyed items. Bai mixed gelatin, agar, starch, glycerin and gluten with water and combined the mixture with different proportions of soil; 3d printing combined with biological materials.

On October 25 (2024), Issy and I had the incredible opportunity to go on a road trip with Asli to Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. The experience was an inspiring resource, especially for Biofabrication, as well as for the upcoming Soft Robotics week. We also got to see some exciting Computational Couture projects, featuring parametric design and 3D printing. Here are a few standout projects I’d love to share!

1. ELIZAVETA LINGONBERG & TAPANI VUORINEN, "Amphibian", is a project where materials were born in the ocean, shaped for the land, from fluid to solid. Made from seaweed's hidden macromolecules.
2. BEIBEI TANG, "RamMix" by mixing ramie waste with microcrystalline cellulose in different proportions, you can produce buttons with varying hardness and textures.
3. SAHAR BABAEIPOUR & RIIKKA KIILI, this project offers an innovative solution by using biobased nanoparticles derived from natural fatty acids and lignin, enhancing water repellency, breathability, and antibacterial properties without compromising ecological integrity. The garment is originally crafted from wood cellulose and recycled cotton.
4. AZUL ESPIRITO SANTO, "Untethered by its nature", is a project that involves working with natural materials such as silk, cotton, hemp, and wool, she uncovers the surroundings of her locality which previously escaped her attention, celebrating nature's resilience and renewal.

crafted materials

bio-plastics

My goal with the bioplastic samples I made during class was to see how each material changed over time. I wanted to document if they shrank in width or height, how the texture shifted, if the elasticity stayed the same, and whether the pigments/fillers I used reacted differently with certain recipes.

I also plan to conduct tests to evaluate decomposition and biodegradability, examining how the materials respond to water and fire. These tests will explore their behavior under varying temperatures and exposure times, providing insight into their durability and environmental impact.

To keep everything consistent, I made all my bioplastic samples in petri dish sizes. Some of the samples are still drying, so I'm still in the process of documenting everything.

BIOPLASTIC RECIPES USING DIFFERENT POLYMERS

All recipes are sourced from Cecilia's class.

Agar BioplasticIngredients & ToolsHow toWater & Fire Resistance

- Agar or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance, obtained from red algae. Agar is a mixture of two components: the linear polysaccharide agarose, and a heterogeneous mixture of smaller molecules called agaropectin. 
Agar is a compound know as a polysaccharide.

- Agar Bioplastic is made by mixing water, glycerine and agar-agar powder.
They form a plastic substitute that can be casted in very thin films, resembling plastic foils. The casted material is never elastic, but is flexible.

- AGAR AGAR
- GLYCEROL
- WATER
- Pot (non-reactive), spoon, whisk and stove
- Textiles, moulds or casting surfaces
- Pigments, food colorants or natural dyes extracts
- Fillers of your choice (egg shell, coffee husks, chalk, etc)

- Warm up the water in the pot on your stove (plain or dyed) at the max of 80C, a starting temperature between 30-50C is recommended.
- Add your plasticiser, the more glycerine the more flexible the material, when adding too much glycerine it will remain sticky. 
- Add the agar, some types of agar have larger flakes take a long time to dissolve.
- Mix until smooth.
- Simmer for another 30 minutes (you can start with 60/70C and slowly move to 86C max-time depends from the typology, room temperature and humidity) 
- Pour on your chosen surface.
- Let it dry in a dry room, turning your piece will affect deformation due to water loss that characterises agar bioplastics.
- De-mould when completely dry, you will see that the agar bioplastic looses a lot of water and therefore shrunk, it can shrink up to 20% based on the water/agar ratio that was present when casting.

- Agar Bioplastic starts dissolving after a couple hours when submerged in room temperature water. It instantly melts when submerged in hot water above 60 degrees celsius.

- Agar Bioplastic is not very heat resistant, it starts mutating after reaching 85 degrees celsius. When microwaved, it starts dissolving just after 30 seconds depending on the thickness of the material casted.

Alginate BioplasticIngredients & ToolsHow toWater & Fire Resistance

- Sodium Alginate is the sodium salt form of alginic acid and gum mainly extracted from the cell walls of brown algae. Brown seaweeds are usually large, and range from the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera.
Alginate is a compound know as a polysaccharide.

- Alginate bioplastic is made by combining two separate mixtures: one containing sodium alginate, water and glycerine (as a base) and a curing agent, calcium chloride.

- SODIUM ALGINATE
- GLYCEROL
- WATER
- CALCIUM CHLORIDE HYDRATE
- Pot, spoons and stove
- Meshes, textiles, nets
- Paint, powders, pigments
- Food colorants or natural dyes extracts

- Mix the alginate with water and glycerine. The best way of getting a smooth mixture is to use a hand held mixer or blender. If you are planning to make a batch of multiple colours, prepare your colors in a jar or small container, to which you will add the mixture.
- Once the mixture is smooth and completely dissolved, let it sit for several hours, this will allow all the bubbles to leave the mixture.
- Prepare a solution of water and calcium chloride, at 10%, and fill a small spray bottle with it.
- Prepare your surfaces and moulds to be filled, by spraying the calcium chloride mixture on the surfaces. You can use 3d textured coated fabrics that are waterproof, to transfer the texture to your bioplastic foil.
- Cast the alginate mixture onto the surface or mould. Once you start pouring, try to cast slowly, without inglobating air, and by carefully pouring on the liquid itself. Spread the material into a thin film using a very wide spatula or by moving the mould.
- After a couple of minutes spray the casted alginate with the calcium chloride mixture, the casted material will shrink both in thickness and width.
- Once the alginate mixture is cured, rinse it thoroughly or dip in it water to eliminate any residue of calcium chloride

- Alginate Bioplastic, once dipped in calcium chloride, is water proof with PH neutral or acid water.
It starts dissolving in a couple hours when the PH of the water it is submerged in, is alkaline.

- Alginate Bioplastic is very heat resistant, even when casted in a thin sheet, it can withstand temperatures up to 150 degrees celsius.

Gelatine BioplasticIngredients & ToolsHow toWater & Fire Resistance

- Gelatine is an animal derived ingredient, made from the collagen present in animal parts. It comes in various forms, such as jelly, dry thin flat sheets or powder, in almost all cases it a translucent material, which can be easily coloured.
It's spiral waste product of the food-meat industry of today, meaning that given the current industrial scene it is seen as a repurposed waste, aiming for a circular/spiral impact. Its not vegetarian or vegan, being fully animal based.

- Gelatine bioplastics are crafted usually from powder, in combination with water and glycerine. Gelatine powder is sensitive to heat, and starts melting already at about 60C degrees, which makes it ideal for both cooking and recycling for new use.
Recycling of both leftovers and unwanted pieces is very easy, simply by adding water and heat to the mix to re-hydrate and melt the mixture. It is then ready for casting again.

- GELATINE
- GLYCEROL
- WATER
- Pot, spoons and stove
- Meshes, textiles, nets
- Paint, powders, pigments
- Food colorants or natural dyes extracts

- Warm up water in a cooking pot on your stove (water can be plain or dyed).
- Add first your plasticiser, remember, the more glycerine the more flexible the material will become - do not exceed 1:1.
- Add the gelatine while gently whisking.
- Mix slowly until smooth.
- Simmer for 15-30 minutes (86C max - time depends from the typology of heat applied, room temperature and humidity) aim for a liquid honey consistency. 
- Pour while hot on your chosen surface (surfaces help texturise your material, choose accordingly).
- Let it dry in a dry room, wait first until its solid to the touch but still cold, then start turning your piece until its dry - this will help you preventing mould formation for long drying, but might affect deformation due to water loss.

- Gelatine Bioplastic starts dissolving after a couple hours when submerged in room temperature water.
It instantly melts when submerged in hot water above 60 degrees celsius.

- Gelatine Bioplastic is not very heat resistant, it starts melting after reaching 50 degrees temperature. When microwaved, it dissolves within 15-30 seconds depending on the thickness of the material casted.

I began by making three initial samples using resin, silicone, and foil, experimenting with textures. I incorporated a reed, visible in the left image, to introduce a natural texture in the sample.

I wanted to integrate wool into additional samples, making use of the wool we dyed during BioChromes week. First, I prepared the wool by brushing it to create a smooth, workable fiber. Then, I created three different patterns:

• I formed small wool balls, arranging them in a polka dot style across the petri dish surface for a textured effect.
• For the next sample, I scattered loose wool fibers evenly over the petri dish, aiming for a consistent and even layer.
• For the final sample, I laid the wool fibers in a plaid pattern, adding structure. I completed this piece by accenting it with food coloring to enhance the colors and give it more depth.

BIO RESIN RECIPE

Ingredients:

48gr Gelatine

8gr Glycerine

240ml Water

tbd Pigment

Tools:

Pot, Stove, Spoons, Scale, Moulds, Jars for mixing

How to:

1. Begin by warming water on the stove. You can use clear water or add dye to color the mixture.
2. Once the water is warm, add your plasticizer, glycerin.
3. Gradually add your polymer, which in this case is gelatin. Ensure that the gelatin is fully dissolved to create a uniform mixture.
4. Stir the mixture gently until it becomes smooth and homogenous. If the mixture remains lumpy, apply gentle heat at around 60°C while stirring to help dissolve any remaining lumps.
5. Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, adjusting the temperature up to a maximum of 120°C.
6. While the mixture is simmering, prepare your surfaces and molds. Once the mixture has thickened, carefully pour it into your prepared molds. Fill them evenly to avoid air pockets and ensure consistent thickness throughout.
7. Allow your materials to remain in the molds until they are fully dried to prevent deformation.

BIO SILICONE RECIPE

Ingredients:

48gr Gelatine

48gr Glycerine

240ml Water

tbd Pigment

Tools:

Pot, Stove, Spoons, Scale, Moulds, Jars for mixing

How to:

1. Begin by warming water on the stove. You can use clear water or add dye to color the mixture.
2. Once the water is warm, add your plasticizer, glycerin. The glycerin is included in high amounts to enhance the elasticity of the bio-silicone, providing flexibility and a softer texture.
3. Gradually add your polymer, which in this case is gelatin. Ensure the gelatin is properly dissolved in the mixture.
4. Gently stir the mixture until it becomes smooth and homogeneous. If the mixture remains lumpy, apply gentle heat at around 60°C while stirring to help dissolve any remaining lumps.
5. Allow the mixture to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, keeping the temperature at a maximum of 86°C.
6. While the mixture simmers, prepare your surfaces and molds. Once the mixture reaches a syrup-like consistency, carefully pour it into your prepared molds. Be mindful to fill them evenly to avoid air pockets.
7. Allow your materials to remain in the molds until they are fully dried to prevent deformation.

BIO FOIL RECIPE

Ingredients:

48gr Gelatine

12gr Glycerine

240ml Water

tbd Pigment

Tools:

Pot, Stove, Spoons, Scale, Moulds, Jars for mixing

How to:

1. Gently warm water in a pot on the stove. You can use clear water or add dye to color the mixture.
2. Introduce glycerine (plasticizer) to the heated water.
3. Slowly add gelatine (polymer), keep stirring until the mixture is smooth.
4. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, ensuring it does not exceed 80°C.
5. Get your molds or surfaces ready. Once the bioplastic mixture thickens to a syrup-like consistency, pour it into the prepared molds.
6. Leave the filled molds drying. Keep the bioplastic in the molds until fully dried to prevent warping or deformation.

We used the leftover mixtures from our bio-resin, silicone, and foil, to create a bio foam for each. All you need to do is add soap to the mixtures. Below, I’ve shared the complete recipe for making Bio Foam:

BIO FOAM RECIPE

Ingredients:

48gr Gelatine

8gr Glycerine

240ml Water

table spoon Soap

tbd Pigment

Tools:

Pot, Stove, Spoons, Scale, Moulds, Jars for mixing, Wisk or Foamer

How to:

1. Gently warm water in a pot on the stove. You can use clear water or add dye to color the mixture.
2. Introduce glycerine (plasticizer) to the heated water.
3. Slowly add gelatine (polymer), keep stirring until the mixture is smooth.
4. Add a table spoon of dishwashing soap to the mixture.
5. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, ensuring it does not exceed 86°C.
6. Get your molds or surfaces ready. Once the bioplastic mixture thickens to a syrup-like consistency, pour it into the prepared molds.
7. Leave the filled molds drying. Keep the bioplastic in the molds until fully dried to prevent warping or deformation.

On the video below, I showcase the material properties of each bioplastic created. In the YouTube video description, I’ve included timestamps indicating the specific moments that correspond to each sample.

I also include a table and a google slide that provide an in-depth analysis of the recipes and characteristics for each sample.

Material	Polymer	Plastifier	Filler	Emulsifier	Pigments	Outcome
Bio-Resin	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 16gr	Reeds
Bio-Silicone	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 96gr	Reeds		Natural Pigment (phragmites)
Bio-Foil	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 24gr	Reeds		Food colouring
Bio-Silicone Foam	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 16gr	Wool	Soap (table spoon)	Food colouring, Natural Pigment (cochineal)
Bio-Resin Foam	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 16gr	Wool	Soap (table spoon)
Bio-Resin	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 16gr	Wool		Food colouring
Bio-Silicone	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 96gr	Egg Shells		Food colouring
Bio-Silicone (casted in textured fabric)	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 96gr			Food colouring
Bio-Resin (casted in textured fabric)	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 16gr			Food colouring
Bio-Silicone	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 96gr	Alginate yarn and beads
Bio-Foil	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 24gr	Reeds		Food colouring
Bio-Foil Foam	Gelatine 96gr	Glycerol 24gr		Soap (table spoon)	Food colouring

I assessed the material's properties on a scale from 0 to 5, focusing on three key characteristics: elasticity, durability, and opacity. For elasticity, I examined how much the material could stretch. Durability measured the material’s resistance to tearing, though I’ll need to re-evaluate this once the samples are fully dried. Opacity assessed how much light passed through each sample.

In addition to all the bioplastics I created, exploring fillers such as wool and reeds, and casting on textured fabrics, I also used the moulds available in the lab to experiment with color and form, making the most of our leftover mixtures.

• For my first sample, I used a bio-foil in a dot pattern mold.
• The second, involved a Voronoi pattern mould, where I used a bio-silicone foam.
• I attempted a more complex experiment involving multiple molds. The design featured a solid mold, a second mold with a square opening, another with smaller stripes, and a final one with larger stripes in the opposite direction. I used a foil foam for this experiment, hoping for a plaid pattern result. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned when I tried to unmold it.
• Lastly, I decided to use our leftover materials in a set of Lego moulds.

alginate yarn

Ingredients:

6gr Sodium Alginate Powder

10gr Glycerine

200ml Water

Calcium Chloride Solution - Prepared at a 90% water to 10% calcium chloride ratio

Step by step process:

1. In a pot, combine the sodium alginate, glycerine, and water. Use a hand blender to create a thick, jelly-like mixture. For a more opaque yarn, add a small amount of sunflower oil to the mixture.
2. Cover the bowl and let the mixture sit overnight. This resting period gives air bubbles time to rise to the surface and dissipate, ensuring a smoother final texture
3. In another pot, mix warm water and calcium chloride in a 90:10 ratio. Stir until fully dissolved. This will be the setting bath for your alginate yarn.
4. Pour the alginate mixture into a syringe or squeeze bottle fitted with a nozzle.
5. Carefully extrude the alginate solution into the calcium chloride bath. Maintain steady pressure on the syringe or bottle to create a continuous, even string, and go around in circles. Aim to keep the extrusion steady and close to the bath surface to prevent air bubbles.
6. Once extruded, the yarn should immediately begin to set in the bath. Gently lift the yarn out of the solution. Wrap it carefully around a paper cup or other cylindrical form to allow it to dry and harden completely.
7. Leave the yarn to dry for 24-48 hours until it reaches your desired texture.

Making alginate yarn was so much fun! Issy and I had the best time experimenting with different pigments to color our yarn. We ended up making tons of “unicorn poop” :D.

One challenge I faced was extruding the yarn smoothly into the calcium chloride solution. If the syringe or squeeze bottle isn’t well-filled with the alginate mixture, it’s difficult to get a continuous, even yarn, too much air makes the flow uneven, creating more beads than strings.

After drying overnight, the yarn takes on a slightly flattened shape, becomes noticeably more durable, and they look beautiful!

vegetal fur

Cecilia came to us with an idea she had seen from another creator: crafting vegetal fur using cattail reeds. Here in Amsterdam, theres a lot of cattails, known for their long, narrow leaves and signature brown, cylindrical flower spikes at the top of their stems.

Just a short two-minute walk from Waag, we collected cattails close to the nearest canal. This is very exciting for me, because I have a enourmous passion for fur, and there is not a lot of sustainable alternatives for this material, so it really is something that im eager to explore here!

Ingredients/Tools:

1 Cattail Reed

Wood glue

Piece of cotton fabric

X-ato knife

Step-by-step how to make vegetal fur with cattail reeds:

1. Generously coat the entire cylindrical flower of the cattail with wood glue.
2. Cut a piece of fabric (cotton works well) to the desired size. Start rolling the fabric around the glue-coated cattail flower, applying more glue as you go to ensure it adheres securely.
3. Once the fabric is fully wrapped, let it dry completely. This process can take more than a day naturally, but a dehydrator can be used to speed up the drying time.
4. Once the material is fully dry and hard, gently massage it to release some flexibility.
5. Using a X-Acto knife, carefully make a cut along the length of the cattail flower and cut the fabric ends. Massage it again to make opening it easier.
6. Carefully open the cattail along the cut and lay it flat. Remove the inner stem while keeping the adhered “fur” intact and clean it to finish.

fish skin leather

I never imagined I would be making fish skin leather, but it turned out to be an incredible, if slightly gross, experience! Issy and I began by visiting the nearest fish shop to Waag, where we asked if they would donate any fish skins they had as waste for our project. We happily brought the fish skins back to the lab and stored them in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

Fish Skins

Water

Oak galls

Ethanol

Glycerin

Step by Step how to make fish skin leather:

1. Start by washing the fish skins in cold water.
2. It's essential to thoroughly clean the fish skins to remove any remaining flesh or residue that could lead to rotting. We decided to remove the scales as well, gently using a knife to scrape away excess flesh and scales until the skins were smooth and clean.
3. Once prepped, we rinsed the skins thoroughly in cold water and ethanol. Avoid using warm or hot water, as it could lead to an unfortunate surprise like Fish Soup!
4. Keep your station clean, because it can get really gross really fast.
5. Next, we prepared two tanning solutions in separate jars - Jar 1: A mixture of water and powdered oak galls, which contain natural tannins that give the skin a rich, darker finish. Jar 2: A blend of water, glycerin, and ethanol, which helps make the skins slightly more transparent and flexible.
6. Place the cleaned skins into the jars and seal them. It’s important to shake the jars periodically to keep the mixture in motion. You can also press the skins against the side of the jar or even give them a gentle “massage” to ensure the tanning solution fully penetrates the material.
7. Continue this process for 3 days to allow the skins to cure completely. After curing, the skins should be stronger and more resilient.

Fish Skin LeatherIngredients & ToolsHow toTips & Tricks

- Fish skin leather is a sustainable material made from discarded fish skins from the food industry. It’s naturally durable due to its unique cross-hatched fiber structure, which makes it stronger than other leathers of similar thickness. 
Processed using vegetable or eco-friendly tanning methods, fish skin leather maintains the original scales and textures, creating a distinct appearance. It’s a circular material choice that minimizes waste and offers eco-conscious alternatives to traditional leather.

- 1 Container or bottle with lid
- 2 or 3 Salmon fish skins
- 1 part Glycerine
- 1 part Ethanol 96%
- Food colorants or natural dyes extracts

- Clean the salmon skins from left over flesh and pull off the scales with a blunt knife.
- Choose a bottle with a wide neck.
- Add to it in equal parts glyceryne and ethanol at 96%, mix well.
- Add the salmon skin in the bottle.
- Close the bottle with its lid and mix it 5-20 of times a day for three days.
- After 3 days: strain off the liquid in a clean container and put the skin to dry. Then break (massage) till soft.

- You can add colour to the tanning process by pre-dyeing the alcohol solution. This is done by adding natural dyes extracts to the ethanol: such as hibiscus, red cabbage, beetroot, black beans liquor, turmeric etc.
- Laying the skin to dry with the scales side facing down on a smooth surface will give you a shiny finish. Laying the skin to dry with the scales side facing up will leave the scales side more open for a slightly rougher texture.

grown materials

kombucha leather

We had the amazing opportunity to learn from Maro Pebo in a class focused on creating materials in collaboration with living organisms, including mycelium and bacteria.

Our main focus was on Kombucha leather, an innovative product derived from a SCOBY, or Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. That is a gelatinous mass crucial for fermenting Kombucha. It contains yeast that ferments sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, while bacteria convert the alcohol into acetic acid, giving Kombucha its tangy flavor.

Kombucha leather is formed during a fermentation process that utilizes tea, sugar, and water. This remarkable material emerges from the cooperative interaction between yeast and specific bacteria, resulting in a robust biofilm of cellulose that also produces vinegar.

Prop Time: 20min

Growth Time: 2 to 30 days

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Sugar

1 piece of Live Kombucha "Mother"

4 bags Tea

1.5L Water

1/2 cup Vinegar

Ethanol

Step by step how to make Kombucha Leather:

1. We started with about 1.5 liters of any type of tea (the choice of tea can impact the color of the leather), sweetened generously with sugar to create a nutrient-rich environment for the SCOBY.
2. To ensure the mixture remained acidic, an essential factor for successful fermentation, we added vinegar to adjust the pH. Our goal was to keep the pH below 6 and have the same ph value for the bath and the kombucha mother, which we monitored using pH strips.
3. Once our tea mixture cooled to below 30 degrees Celsius, we carefully introduced the Kombucha mother. If one didn’t have access to a SCOBY, we learned that the small white particles found in organic apple cider vinegar could be a viable alternative.
4. We covered the container with breathable fabric, securing it with an elastic band to allow air circulation while protecting the mixture from unwanted contaminants. The setup was then placed on a heat pad (between 25ºC-30ºC, room temperature) to maintain a warm environment (in Amsterdam is quite cold already), encouraging fermentation over the next 30 days.

Microbial LeatherIngredients & ToolsHow toTips & Tricks

- MICROBIAL LEATHER is a form of BACTERIAL NANO CELLULOSE - is most often made with Kombucha starter - a fermented tea with a symbiotic colony of bacterial yeast (SCOBY).
Bacteria feeding on a liquid medium of sugars and tea, start creating an acidic environment which allows them to thrive and spin cellulose layers.
It grows best between 25-30 degrees Celsius, at lower temperatures the kombucha pellicle will grow, but slowly. There are hundreds of different strains of kombucha.

- Bacterial leather can be grown at different thicknesses, it is a material that is form from layered cellulose films, where the grown material is washed, in some cases purified and then dried, either flat or in shape. 
To further preserve the material, it can undergo a post-growth treatment to soften, make elastic or dry the kombucha pellicle. Different growing mediums and recipes create different colours or textures, while the different treatments change the properties of the material.

- 1L Black or green tea, wine, beer, herbal mixes
- 120 gr White sugar
- Kombucha SCOBY
- Clean container
- Natural dyes or food dyes

- Prepare or brew 1 liter of growing medium, such as tea, herbal or fruit mixes, readily fermenting such as wine, beer, etc.
- Add at least 120 grams sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved, then place in a sterile container and let cool down.
- Measure the temperature, you are looking for +30degrees. Then add the kombucha scoby and its liquid.
- Place everything in the growing tray, jar or box, cover with a lid but don't seal it.
- Let it grow for ±30days at 30degrees, or until you have at least 1cm thickness. Then take your wet grown matt out, wash it, treat it and place it to dry on a 3d shape or on a flat tray.

- Depending on which type of tea you use, you will have different colours shades of kombucha. Green tea for transparency/milky whites, black tea for rusty oranges and tans.
- You can add colour to the brew by combining it with flowers/plants such as hibiscus, beetroot, turmeric etc. or using fruits.
- You can apply essential oils mixes or coconut oil for a smoother surface finishing.
- The bacteria themselves will produce vinegar, but if your water is alkaline, add a splash of vinegar.
- Water quality may affect your bacterial cellulose growth.

progression

It's been 4 days since we started preparing the kombucha leather, and it’s thriving! The growth has been impressive, with no signs of bacterial contamination. The leather is still quite thin, but we’re keeping it on the heat pad to encourage further development.

mycelium leather

Continuing our explorations with Maro, we started the process to make Mycelium (Reishi) leather. Mycelium is the root-like structure of fungi, consisting of a network of fine, thread-like filaments called hyphae. This network grows beneath the soil or within a substrate and is responsible for the fungal organism’s absorption of nutrients.

In practical applications, mycelium has remarkable properties. It can grow into complex shapes, bond with different substrates, and adapt its structure based on environmental conditions. As it grows, mycelium produces a dense, resilient matrix that is lightweight, insulating, and fire-resistant.

Ingredients:

Mycelium Specimen

Agar

Cheap Honey

Ethanol

1. To cultivate our mycelium, we started by preparing a variety of containers to serve as its growth environment. For this, we used petri dishes, Tupperware, and jars, each fitted with breathable lids. We created small holes in these lids with a soldering iron, to allow airflow, essential for mycelium growth, and covered them with surgical tape to keep contaminants out.

2. We then made two types of growing mediums: one using black agar, as a solid medium, prepared specifically for the petri dishes, and the other a simple nutrient solution, as a liquid medium, made from honey and water. We used a 4% ratio of honey to water, as honey is rich in glucose and lacks antimicrobial properties, making it ideal for mycelium. These mixtures were placed in sealed bottles and, along with our containers, sterilized in an autoclave.

3. After we prepared a sterile workspace. Using ethanol around a Bunsen burner, we created a barrier of evaporating ethanol, forming a sterile dome of hot, rising air. This reduced the risk of airborne contaminants settling in our workspace.

4. Once everything was sterilized, we began inoculating. To introduce the mycelium, we carefully sliced a small section of a Reishi specimen, sterilizing our scalpel in the flame of the Bunsen burner until it glowed red, then cooling it by briefly touching it to the growing medium to avoid killing the mycelium. It is important to open the petri dish towards the fire and not to your mouth!

5. Finally, we sealed the petri dishes with parafilm to secure the sterile environment and placed them in an incubator set around 25°C.

Mycelium Brick/LeatherIngredients & ToolsHow to

- Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus. Looks like strings often white or cream coloured that grow in long fibres called hyphae. This structure, as a whole, is the vegetative structure of fungi.
This is why mycelium is able to colonise other materials, like a substratum, think of straw or coffee for example, but also liquid nutrients. This colonisation fosters the creation of a new material.

- MYCELIUM BRICK, LEATHER
Mycelium can be grown in many different ways, on a large variety of substratum. You can purchase the strains growing in different conditions, from inoculated saw dust to wooden pegs, liquid cultures or agar plates.

- Mycelium grown materials are often fireproof, waterproof or sound isolating. They are also completely compostable and organic.

- 1 MYCELIUM (ex: schizophylum)
- 3gr MALT EXTRACT
- 3gr YEAST EXTRACT
- 5gr PEPTONE
- 10gr GLUCOSE
- 1000ml DISTILLED WATER
- some GLYCERINE (or any other plasticiser)
- CONTAINER PLASTIC FILM (HEAT) PRESS STOVE
- OVEN SPOONS SCALE
- PRESSURE COOKER ETHANOL 96%
- GAS BURNER

- Make your liquid nutrient-rich medium: mix malt extract, yeast extract, petptone, glucose and distilled water together in a jar, and sterilise it by autoclaving, with the pressure cooker. Let it cool to room temperature.
- In a sterilised area (made with a gas burner and ethanol), slice your mycelium out of the petri dish and remove the jelly agar. Then place the the liquid nutrient medium into the container (sterilized) and inoculate with mycelium.
- Let it grow in a static position for 5-10 days at 23-28°C.
- Harvest the mycelium sheet.
- Plasticise the mycelium sheet and let it soak in glycerine in a plastic film for several hours (24-48h). The mycelium sheet can also be (heat) pressed.
- Rinse the mycelium sheet to remove the plasticiser.
- Dry the mycelium sheet in the oven at 90-150°C for several hours.

progression

4 days in, the mycelium growth has been slow but promising. It’s showing more rapid development in the solid agar medium compared to the liquid medium, so we’ll keep it in inoculation to support steady growth. Looking forward to sharing more updates as it progresses!