the brands of 2023

In 2023, Material Matters will showcase a curated mix of exhibitors to celebrate the importance of materials and their ability to shape our lives. The selection included global brands, makers, designers, manufacturers, and artists working in materials that ranged from recycled aluminium, clay, wood and glass to orange peel, roots and sugar.

Green grads

ROOM 13.19

GREEN GRADS is a platform for new graduates ‘with ideas to heal the planet,’ says its founder/curator, the design writer Barbara Chandler.

Graduates come from BA and MA courses from a wide range of disciplines including: art, engineering, product and furniture design, materials innovation, animation, graphics, ceramics, glass, textiles, fashion, interior design and architecture. And they tackle issues such as: climate, energy, carbon, pollution, waste, diminishing resources, and depletion of species. They promote the circular economy, natural materials, local production, and restoration and repair and explore seaweed, mycelium and other intriguing new bio-materials, plus elegant materials made from waste.

Four GREEN GRADS are coming to Material Matters, flying the flag for over 130 GREEN GRADS that comprise the combined cohorts of 2021, 2022, and 2023

Georgie Gerrard, a graduate of Loughborough University, creates sculptural vessels in mycelium. Henry Davison, a graduate of Northumbria University, has developed a process to turn seaweed into a durable leather-like material. Elizabeth Lee, Eden Harrison, Ori Blich and Juan Ignacio Rion – who all graduated from MA Design Engineering, Royal College of Art/Imperial College London – have invented Carbon Cell, a carbon-negative biodegradable replacement for expanded polystyrene (EPS) and other polymer-based foams. Finally, Trixi Marx, a graduate from Middlesex University, has created Growable Graphics, a novel self-sustaining signage system, made from hexagon-shaped wood tiles covered with local moss and lichen species.

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