Week 01 — State of the Art, Project Management and Documentation¶
Fabricademy 2025–26 — Ipek Kuscu
Table of Contents¶
1. Research & Ideation¶
1.1 My background and interests¶
Before Fabricademy, I worked for years with fermentation, kombucha, SCOBY and food-based biology under my brand N2 Life.
I create fermented drinks, kimchi, vinegars, and I teach workshops for children and adults.
I am especially interested in: - fermentation as material (SCOBY leather, bioplastics), - food + biology + textiles, - education, storytelling and hands-on learning.
My goal at Fabricademy is to connect these experiences with digital fabrication, biomaterials and wearables.
1.2 Inspiration — Who I learned from¶
My inspiration this week comes from pioneers working with biomaterials, fermentation and living systems.
Biomaterials & Bacterial Cellulose¶
Since I have been developing my own coffee-kombucha SCOBY leather prototype for 3 years, I am naturally inspired by:
-
Suzanne Lee — BioCouture
Growing bacterial cellulose garments and showing how living materials can replace textiles. -
Agatha Haines — speculative biomaterials
Her work explores body–material relationships and living systems. -
ECAL / EPFL bacterial cellulose experiments
Accessories and fashion explorations grown through fermentation.
Fermentation as a Material Practice¶
Fermentation is a living, transforming system. Designers working with microbes influence my thinking:
-
Sissel Tolaas — microbial smell research
She treats bacteria as sensory collaborators. -
Giorgia Lupi & Elisa Storelli — yeast installations
Fermentation as a growing art form. -
Giulia Tomasello — Future Flora
Wearables, probiotics and feminine health through living cultures.
These references support my direction of working with kombucha, SCOBY, fermented pigments, and biological transformations.
1.3 My direction for Fabricademy¶
This week helped me define my focus:
- combining fermentation knowledge with digital fabrication,
- developing bio-based materials,
- exploring how food waste can become colours, textures or biomaterials,
- and documenting transformation as a core design method.
2. Tools¶
| Tool | Function | How I use it |
|---|---|---|
| Fablabs.io | Main login | Access to GitLab & Fabricademy tools |
| GitLab | Version control | Stores all files, images, weekly pages |
| Web IDE | Browser editor | Edit .md files, upload images |
| Markdown | Formatting language | Structure text, lists, links, images |
| MkDocs + Material | Site generator | Builds my Fabricademy website |
| class.textile-academy.org | Final website | Displays my documentation |
| Mattermost | Communication | Class messages & announcements |
| Nueval | Evaluation | Weekly self-evaluation (later) |
3. Documentation Workflow¶
3.1 Repository structure¶
I work mainly in:
- docs/assignments/week01.md
- docs/images/week01/
- docs/files/
Image path example:
```markdown
