nienke hoogvliet presents (toilet) paper, (fish) leather and (sea algae) yarn products

in a bid to promote sustainability and combat ocean-related environmental issues, dutch design studio nienke hoogvliet, have created a design collection of products using repurposed and recycled materials. featuring toilet paper bowls and seaweed rugs as well as a material exhibition and ‘fish leather book’, presented during dutch design week, hoogvliet hopes her projects can contribute to a more sustainable product and textile industry.

SEA ME rug

known for her material research, experimental and conceptual design hoogvliet conducts research to inform self-initiated design projects. in her projects SEA ME and the SEA ME collection she researched how seaweed can contribute to a more sustainable textile industry. SEA ME – a rug made of sea algae yarn, knotted by hand in an old fishing net – hopes to draw attention to this unusual material by capturing the contrast between the polluting plastic waste issues and the beautiful things the sea has to offer.

the SEA ME rug was made of sea algae yarn

hoogvliet suggests the yarn could offer a solution for the sustainability issues in the textile industry by offering an alternative to cotton. whilst researching into this material she has discovered that sea algae grow much faster and need less nutrients.

hoogvliet discovered sea algae grow much faster than cotton

in an extension of the product, hoogvliet presented RE-SEA ME, continuing her research for materials out of the sea and repurposing fish skin, turning it into beautiful leather. in this particular exploration the designer went to fish shops to collect their waste fish skins and discovered a way of tanning the skins without chemicals.

a small stool with fish leather seating

to show the abilities of the leather, nienke designed a small stool with fish leather seating, processes that have proven their ability to be scaled upwards. in creating this particular product – which uses salmon skin – nienke learnt that the tanning process she applied can be produced at a larger scale, something she hopes makes it a more viable option for the industry.

hoogvliet researched into tanning processes to create the chair

RE-SEA ME 
video by studio nienke hoogvliet

the chair features leather made from fish skin

this year nienke has decided to share this leather tanning process in her new book ‘fish Leather’ in the hope more waste will be used and more people will be inspired by this beautiful and interesting material. the book is a second edition to the designer’s research into seaweed, encompassed in her SEA ME and RE-SEA ME projects.

‘fish leather’ book

seaweed research book

in 2016, the designer presented ‘waterschatten’ – a mini-collection of products using repurposed and recycled material – as part of dutch design week 2016. the collection included a large dining table, a set of pendant lights and a range of bowls out of toilet paper aiming to combat negative associations with the material.

toilet paper products featured bowls upon a large table

hoogvliet combined the paper with brass accents which concealed drawers and runs within the tabletop. the collection was made in partnership with the dutch water authorities, who have been experimenting with recovering valuable energy and raw materials from wastewater as well as reclaiming phosphates and other materials.

the table featured a mini-exhibition exploring materials