Seaweed

Sea Me and Sea Me Collection

Studio Nienke Hoogvliet, founded by Nienke Hoogvliet and Tim Jongerius, is a design studio for material research and experimental and conceptual design. The projects draw attention to the social or ecological problems caused by the textile, leather and food industries amongst others.

With impressive advantages, microalgae and seaweed can convert CO2 into oxygen. Research on marine plants shows that they produce between 70 and 80 per cent of the world's oxygen. Marine plants are also regarded as a bio-filter that can absorb waste caused by by-products from the livestock and fish farming industries. They also provide diverse marine habitats for fish and other species such as starfish, anemones and jellyfish, promoting the functioning of coastal ecosystems around the world.

Focusing on the potential of seaweed as raw material, Hoogvliet created a natural seaweed yarn, the basis for the Sea Me project, to create a handmade rug. Hoogvliet wanted to draw attention to this unusual material as a solution for many non-ecological materials we use today. A yarn made of seaweed could offer a solution for sustainability issues within the textile industry. For example, algae grow much faster, their cultivation does not require much farmland, and they never need insecticides and pesticides, unlike cotton production. She used an old fishing net as the basis for the Sea Me rug, where the waste can be reused for aesthetic and practical purposes.

This developed into the Sea Me Collection. To show the potential of this natural and biological material in different media, Nienke designed a chair and table. The seating of the chair is made of seaweed yarn and dyed naturally with seaweed. The fabric was woven by hand into a soft cushion. The leftovers of this process are used to create regular paint for the tabletop. The waste was used to make the bio-plastic bowls. Studio Nienke Hoogvliet wants to visualise how seaweed can be part of our homes in the future.

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