Sustainable Design

Dutch Design Daily

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Leonie & Lois www.leonieenlois.nl

Spijkerbrij

By 29-12-2014

Armed with their passion for repurposing waste and a fascination for craft, Leonie Vlaar en Lois Stolwijk set out to give jeans a second life with their ‘Spijkerbrij’ project.

Used jeans and also offcuts are shredded into a pulp to which organic resin or a type of woodglue is added. The resulting new material can be shaped and hardened into a desired form. This process is rooted in Dutch tradition. Lois: “In our research, we discovered that, traditionally, old textiles were recycled into paper, which is still done today. So we use the same technique, simplified it and instead of making paper, we make three-dimensional products.”

Leonie & Lois give demonstrations with their portable denim recycling workshop. Low-tech machines use hand- and cycle-power to show the tangibility of the process and use no electricity. So far the duo are focusing on accessories (bowties) and interior products (lamps and seats) but the potential extends to board material to create furniture and even flooring.

Source: Connecting the Dots
Video: Robert Andriessen, www.designguide.tv