Essi Johanna Glomb and Rasa Weber make up Blond & Bieber, a Berlin-based studio that treads the multidisciplinary border between textile and product design. Their laboratory project Algaemy investigates the potential of microalgae as a living colour palette.
The autonomous Algaemy printing machine
Biodynamic, photosensitive prints react to sunlight and other factors, changing for example from green to blue, or from pale pink to bright red to orange. The as-yet-unknown effects of the environment on the algae introduce an intriguing element of chance to the pigments. ‘People change – so do textiles,’ in the philosophy of Blond & Bieber. Read more on Blond & Bieber’s collaborations with fashion designer Ylenia Gortana and ethically responsible German shoe-brand Trippen in COVER 36. The material technology and product applications behind the Algaemy project will be presented at the international fabric trade fair, MUNICHFABRICSTART, Munich, 2 – 4 September 2014. The Algaemy movie (below) is taking part in a close run competition- The Pitch; place your vote forBlond & Bieber here.
Algaemy – crafting our future food (Blond & Bieber) from Rasa Weber design and research on Vimeo.
‘Feeding’ the microalgae pigment
Algaemy fabrics, photography Lukas Olfe
Algaemy fabrics by Blond & Bieber
