Dear ###USER_name###,
Welcome to the second Material Explorer newsletter. This issue includes details of the latest additions to the Material Explorer database and an article about the perception of that popular property, translucency. The spotlight is turned on another new material and the ‘check this out!’ column contains some amazing stuff about leather. At the end we give the latest dates and locations for our Material Skills exhibition.
For inspiration, information and amusement, read on …
Els Zijlstra
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The Material Explorer has been updated with new materials. We will be publishing new additions every week. You can see them here. Below a small selection of the latest additions:
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 Horse Hair | |  Metalresin | |  Ice Cubes | |  Printed tiles | |  Corten Ceramic tile |
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Translucency - transparency and perception
How something strikes us - what our senses register - depends on the sensory properties of the material. Designers can use these sensory properties to evoke a particular perception or create a particular effect. This article is particularly concerned with translucency. How does it work, what effect does it have and how can it be included in a design?
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In the spotlight!
Every month we select a material for its interesting sensory or technical properties, or simply because we like it. This month's material is Structuran, a sintered glass granulate which gives an effect of depth when viewed from the front.
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Structuran sintered glass granulate
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Check this out!
The column "check this out!" is supposed to inform you about remarkable material use and history. This month we focus on leather.
Leather can be produced from virtually any kind of skin, including the skins of such exotic creatures as crocodiles, alligators, stingrays, snakes, ostriches and lizards. Aristotle Onassis is said to have had the bar stools on his yacht "Christina O" covered in whale penis leather.
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Even human leather is a possibility; the proceedings of capital trials were sometimes bound with the skin of the condemned. In Japan, and possibly in some other Eastern cultures, there was a tradition of wealthy people buying elaborate tattoos off poor ones; after the death of the owner, the tattooed skin would be carefully removed and tanned, then worn as an adornment.
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Back to normal life now; what do you say to fish leather? Soft, smooth and lightweight, this particular form of ‘sea leather’ has a natural elasticity that won't sag after a dip. Made from commercial fish skins that usually get thrown away or turned into chicken feed, it also gets a seal of approval from the Greens.
Skin does not always have to be scraped, tanned and dyed; just keep the form and furriness, sew a bag from it and fill it with soft material, like you can see at www.cowch.nl
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 A cowch that looks like a cow, but is made from fabric |
For the real vegans amongst us; why bother to use the real thing? Copy your favourite animal on www.cowch.com
References:
fishskins.haslinger-knives.com
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Locations Material Skills exhibition
To see the latest innovative and inspiring materials for real, visit our international travelling Material Skills exhibition. The current programme is given below. The program is constantly being updated, so check our website regularly to see if Material Skills is coming to a location near you.
BIS-fair Designweek Kortrijk Batimat 2005
Gent, Belgium Kortrijk, Belgium Paris, France
8 - 16 October 2005 October 2005 7 - 12 November 2005
Frankfurt, Germany Stockholm, Sweden
10 - 11 November 24 - 27 January 2006
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A final word...
As you know, Materia is constantly on the lookout for materials with special sensorial or technical properties, or used in a special way. If you have suggestions or tips for new materials or materials uses, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@materia.nl. We will publish your name on our website in return.
We hope to hear from you soon!
