Dear ###USER_name###,
This is the Materia News Letter for April 2007, packed full of new materials, events and information. For your material inspiration, read on!
The Materia Team
If you can't read this newsletter properly, please use this link:
http://www.materialexplorer.com/index.php?id=532
to view it online!
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Coming up: New Homepage
In May, the website Material Explorer will be linked through the corporate site of www.materia.nl. Therefore the layout of the Materia website will be renewed.
This means our site will be transformed into a knowledgebase with interesting event updates, articles and lots of extra information about architecture, design and materials.
We will keep you informed about the exact launch date!
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Latest additions
The Material Explorer has been updated with 20 new materials. You can see them here. Below the selection of the latest additions:
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In the spotlight!
At the Saie Due in Bologna we spotted some very interesting materials which will be published at materialexplorer in the next months.
Glass Brick of Poesia is one of them; these real pieces of art are available in a large choice of colours, special workings and shapes. In glass brick or half glass brick, glass’ column in several sizes, glass angle bar, square glass column, glass insert, half glass insert and small glass bricks. Poesia is born thanks to the collaboration of Venetian glass-worker masters. This made the company able to put forward innovation and surprise in the market, with a range of handmade, fascinating products brighting combined with fancy, creativity and high d’avant-garde technology.
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 Poesia glass: a large choice of colours, special workings and shapes. |
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Check this out!
Veggie fashion with organic textiles: Centuries ago textiles made from plants were commonplace but with the emergence of the artificial fibres industry that is no longer the case. Cotton, hemp, flax (linen), Abaca (banana plant), jute, ramie, sisal, bamboo, soya, maize and even the stinging nettle are suitable. Cotton is the best-known surviving crop and is widely used.
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 left to right: cotton, hemp, abaca, ramie, linen and sisal |
Two special plants have been rediscovered and receive extra attention here:
Stinging nettle:
As early as the time of Napoleon the stinging nettle served as a raw material for clothing until the plant was pushed out of the market by the emergence of cheap cotton.
The stinging nettle has a stalk with long, robust and hollow fibres. Thanks to these hollow fibres the material has both insulating and breathing properties. The stinging hairs on the stem contain a sack filled with formic acid; it breaks upon being touched and causes irritating lumps on the human skin. The stinging hairs lose their sting as soon as the stinging nettles have been mown and have been spread out on the ground for a period to dry.
For textile production large stinging nettles (Urtica dioca) are used that can easily reach a height of three metres. Therefore do not try this with the stinging nettles in your garden!
Bamboo:
There are bamboo species that can grow by one metre per day and are therefore the fastest growing plants in the world. Furthermore, bamboo is not a wood but a grass species, which after harvesting continues to produce new shoots without the need to grow new plants. Unlike wood, bamboo can be harvested within 4 to 5 years.
Bamboo textile is comfortable, extremely soft, environmentally friendly, antibacterial, odourless, dries quickly and is refreshing. Clothing made from bamboo textile is usually made from 70% bamboo fibres and 30% cotton.
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 left to right bamboo: Kate O’Connor clothes, Avita by Amanda Shi |
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WebShop of Materia
The many requests for our latest book ‘Material Skills, evolution of materials’ have led us to open our own WebShop of Materia, where you can order online and pay by credit card. All orders are processed automatically and shipped by our distributor. If you have not yet ordered your own copy of "Material Skills, evolution of materials", go to our WebShop and order now!
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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 any suggestions or tips for new materials or new applications of materials, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@materia.nl.
We hope to hear from you soon!
