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ISSUE 11 WINTER 2017

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CRAFT | HERITAGE | ENVIRONMENT THE YARN SPECIAL

SOLAR DYEING: ONE COLOUR, MANY HUES ANNAâ€™ S STORY

A STORY OF COLOUR: MAKING YARN FROM THE WASTE OF TEXTILE MILLS

FROM PETROLEUM TO ALGAE: NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE INK INDUSTRY

BUYING BULK FOR THE COMMUNITY: JOIN THE REFILL REVOLUTION

Dear reader, It’s been a year since our “Eco Print Special” and here we are with another special winter issue dedicated to yarn, which we hope will be with you before the holidays officially start so you can kick back (we hope!) and relax with our magazine and a warm drink (or a cold drink if the weather where you are is nice and warm!) We have made some big changes since the last issue of the magazine. First, we have now established a small team of dedicated writers who are putting a lot of passion in researching and writing the articles for this magazine. Thanks to their support, we have been able to pack more features in this issue and offer more variety than ever before. In this special issue, we have a section entirely dedicated to different varieties of yarn (for alpaca and sheep lovers, recycling enthusiasts as well as vegans), its colours (with a fabulous feature on solar dyeing) and the art of spinning. We also have a section dedicated to different types of upcycling and have developed our “zero waste” section further to include innovative technologies such compostable inks from algae, biodegradable packaging and creative ways to tackle waste from the advertising and food industries. We have also a wonderfully picturesque travelogue written by one of our writers as well as other regular features such as the multifunctional garden and home decor. We have also introduced a new regular feature, the ‘projects for the planet’ where we scout crowdfunding platforms in search of innovative, eco-friendly and creative startups. It has been hard work but also an immense pleasure to prepare this issue and I really hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together. We’d like to extend our gratitude to all our dedicated readers and our collaborators for their support. Remember, there’s still time to contact us if you’d like to get involved with our “Eco Print Workbook”, which will be out in the late spring / summer and also to participate in the winter competition (see the last page of this issue for more details).

Credits Editor Alessandra Palange Art Editor Francesca Palange NSN Italy Editor Rosa Rossi Marketing Alessandra Palange Francesca Palange Translations Fuschia Hutton Subscriptions & Advertising info@noserialnumber.org Cover Photos Front and back cover page: recycled yarn by Sarah Cross, photography by Sarah Cross Copyright All images are copyright protected and are the property of their respective makers/owners as detailed in each article and photo. No Serial Number Magazine is published four times a year. No responsability will be accepted for any errors or omissions, views expressed or comments by editors, writers or interviewees. No Serial Number Magazine makes all efforts to advertise products that are in accordance with its ethos. However, goods advertised are not necessarily endorsed by No Serial Number Magazine. Information is correct at the time of publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission. All prices are accurate at time of going to press but these may change at any time.

Wishing you a peaceful and green holiday season, Alessandra Palange and the NSN team

No Serial Number team ALESSANDRA, EDITOR I am a qualitative researcher in the social sciences and education with a keen interest in citizenship. Being the editor of No Serial Number Magazine is a hobby for me, something that I do out of passion and with the belief that there are many things we can do to make the world a better place, one of them is producing and consuming more responsibly as a society. I originally had the idea of this magazine when I started networking with ecofriendly artists, artisans, and creative businesses online for a family start-up business. At this point, I realised how diverse and creative the environmental movement really is.and thought it would be great to have a place where we could tell all these stories and explore the role of creativity in the search for environmental solutions. If you’d like to propose a story for No Serial Number Magazine you can email me here: editorial@noserialnumber.org FRANCESCA, ART EDITOR After many years working as a retail manager in the fashion industry, I decided to leave the retail world when I became disenchanted with its focus on profits over the quality of products and the customer experience. I decided to take the leap and start my own business, first by collaborating with eco print artist Michela Pasini and then with my family on the development of No Serial Number Magazine. With time, I became more and more passionate about the graphic design process, so much so that I am now in charge of the design of magazine. I also keep track of emails, sales, and subscriptions, and run the social media pages. If you have any questions about your subscription, a wholesale inquiry or would like to talk about cross-promotion, I am the one to ask! You can contact me here info@noserialnumber.org

ROSA, NSN ITALY EDITOR I am a retired Latin and Greek teacher and an avid knitter and crocheter. I have published school textbooks and work as a freelance writer for Pearson Italia. I am also a consultant for various cultural projects in Italy. At the moment, I am managing the development of a new library within the theatre of Caffeina Cultura and Caffeina Cultura’s own bookstore. For No Serial Number Magazine, I am mainly in charge of finding eco-sustainable realities in Italy, where I am based, and writing about them. I also manage the Italian Blog of No Serial Number Magazine, so if you’re interested in No Serial Number Italia, please visit the blog it.noserialnumber.org or email me: noserialnumberitaly@gmail.com

Featured contributors ... Pam Newton Working towards a Textile degree, graduating in 2018, specialising in Weave and Mixed Media at Coleg Sir Gar, West Wales. I am fascinated by nature and the human interaction with it. With a background in horticulture, my work involves creating natural fibres and colours, borrowed from the landscape made to be returned. I love creating a sustainable lifestyle and enjoy teaching, writing and travel; being inspired by other artists and places. Website: www.naturalthreads.co.uk Instagram: @by_natural_thread

Kate Stuart I’m a practising artist, writer and craftswoman based in the North East of England. I specialise in upcycling, zero waste living, quilting, and painting with acrylics on canvas. I live with my partner, our two children whom we home educate, and a variety of pets. As a family, we aspire to return to the crofting roots of my ancestors, and to live a zero waste, self-sufficient life. Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ ThePhoenixGreenStore Facebook and Instagram: @thephoenixgreenstore

Lisa Cole I’m an ethical website and graphic designer who specialises in working with creatives and an author of books about gentle decluttering. My background is in Fashion and Textiles, specialising in costume history. I’ve been brought up to make do and mend and I am fascinated with the bond we have to our belongings. I live in Bristol with my teenager and too many cats. Website: www.nakedwebsite.co.uk Twitter: @NakedWebsite FB: NkdWebsiteDesign Website: www.less-stuff.co.uk Twitter: @lessstuffnow FB: lovelessstuff

Jessie Hembery I’m a Journalism graduate with an interest in sustainable lifestyles and green technologies. I enjoy writing about many social issues that I have a strong opinion about, including our wonderful planet and its preservation! I’ve always been an avid adventurer, which was born through following my father for his career across 3 different countries, 14 houses, 9 schools and 1 university. My aim is to constantly explore and share the stories that come with those captivating experiences.

Michelle Challice Textile Designer specialising in the fructose indigo vat and biodegradable homewares. Recently relocated back home to Britain and works from a tiny natural dye studio on the Dorset coast. Loves her rescue dog Felek, African and Folk textiles and the British weather. Hates having her photo taken! Facebook: @michellechallicedesign Instagram: @michellechallice

DO YOU WANT TO WRITE FOR US? GET IN TOUCH!!

If you are passionate about crafts, art, design, social projects, zero waste and all the other subjects that we cover on our magazine then get in touch and you could become one of our contributors. All you need to do is to send us an email to info@noserialnumber.org. We also have opportunities to write for our blog so get in touch!

Contents TRADITIONAL ARTS, TRADES AND CRAFTS 6. Alpacas and Clouds: From Alpaca Breeding to the Finest Yarn 10. One Colour, Many Hues - Anna’s Story 16. Solar Dyeing with Deborah Gray 18. Weaving the Landscape: A Profile of Tapestry Weaver Ros Hornbuckle

Deborah Gray

YARN AND SPINNING 23. For the Love of Yarn ... Spinning Yarn with Deborah Gray 26. A Story of Colour: Making Yarn from the Waste of Textile Mills 27. Step by Step by Sarah Cross 30. Spinning Vegetable Fibres in the Scottish Countryside

Tapestry Weaving

UPCYCLING 33. Making Ridiculously Sparkly Art to Challenge Consumer Habits 35. Pyjamas with a Conscience 36. Hunting and Gathering Fabric for Contemporary Fashion Designs 37. Sewing Today, From the Past to the Future 38. The Up-Cycled Cloth Collective 39. Dress by The Ocean Corner SUSTAINABLE FASHION 40. Today is Silk, Tomorrow is Milk 44. In Search of Comfort, Easy-care and Elegance 46. Building a Community through Sustainable Yarn, One Knit at the Time 48. A Creative Solution to the Environmental Cost of Advertising HOME CHRONICLES 50. Of Hearth and Home: The Textile Art of Louise O’Hara

Travelogue Yarn from Waste Materials

TRAVEL CHRONICLES 52. Travelogue: Making Sustainable Connections

MULTIFUNCTIONAL GARDEN 56. Land Art: ‘Fully Empty, Emptily Full’ KITCHEN CHRONICLES 58. Vegetarian Chickpea Burger ZERO WASTE 60. From Petroleum to Algae: New Directions in the Ink Industry 62. Buying Bulk for the Community: Join the Refill Revolution 64. The Many Sides of the Zero Waste Battle 65. Leftover Pie 66 Projects for the Planet EVENT REVIEW WORKSHOP STATION THE ECO CRAFTER AND ENTREPRENEUR AWARD ECO-FRIENDLY IDEAS 76. For the body 76. For the home 76. For the Children 77. Craft Kits

Sparkly Lynne

Each issue is created with love: love for our world heritage and love for the environment. We are really passionate about meeting creative people that put all their effort in combining these two elements - that’s why this magazine exists! In this day and age we desperately need to change the way we live, consume and produce. We hope that with this magazine we are contributing towards this goal. If you love what you see subscribe today and help us grow and reach more people! www.noserialnumber.org

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Spring Issue 2018 • Exploring India’s traditional crafts • Primitive metal, clay and wood work • Hand-stitch and needle lace-making • Innovative textiles • Crafting from the woodlands • Creative plastic recycling • Zero waste survey results & Much More ... 

OUT ON 23.03.2018

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Subscribe online: www.noserialnumber.org

PINTEREST Follow our Pinterest boards for vintage fashion, traditional toys, natural colours, textile design, ecofriendly ideas & recommended books www.pinterest.com/ noserialnumber

TRADITIONAL ARTS TRADES & CRAFTS

ISSUE 11 WINTER 2017

Alpacas and Clouds: From Alpaca Breeding to the Finest Yarn Words by Rosa Rossi Translation by Fuschia Hutton Photography by Elia Palange Alpaca e Nuvole means literally ‘alpacas and clouds’. This evocative combination was chosen as a name by the protagonists of this story. What initially seemed like a madcap adventure soon turned into a business with legs, combining breeding, handspun yarn, and self-sufficient fruit and vegetable cultivation. Our two heroes left the city (Turin) and clambered up the mountains of Piedmont (on the edge of Gran Paradiso National Park) where they set up an alpaca breeding centre and handspun yarn production workshop. Their motto? “Some things cannot be hurried, some things cannot be made by machines… passion, attention, and love take time.” away over the course of a century, with the exception of a few - mostly elderly - people who held on despite all the changes going on around them. Barbara and Gigi are a sign that this trend is beginning to reverse, and this tendency could be set to increase. It is as though the lure of the city - in this case an industrial city like Turin - has reached saturation point and some are beginning to make their way back. As the restoration work advanced, the idea began to form of making this little corner of the mountain their main home, somewhere they could begin a business that suited their land, traditionally used for pasture and livestock rearing. Taking these factors into account, they chose alpaca rearing.

igi and Barbara’s story began around ten years ago when looking for a place to escape the city, somewhere they would be able to enjoy the peace and quiet. Following the solitary mountain roads which scramble up towards ruins abandoned for decades, they stumbled upon the mountains of Castelnuovo Nigra. The stone buildings - cabins, stables, and shepherds’ huts - are absolutely charming. Often, decisions like these are made in a split second. Quite simply, the feeling is right. And this is what happened to our protagonists. They bought the wreck, realised that they could also afford the land (today considered to be of insignificant value), and began restoration work. As work got gradually underway, a new life began to take shape. They realised that what they were creating could become the foundation for a bigger project, one which would truly make use of the land’s potential. The land was mostly wooded, with small plots of pastureland, and other areas which could be recovered, all 1000 metres above sea level. Because land in this area had been used for livestock rearing for centuries, its inhabitants had moved

From that moment on, the work increased and became more specialised. Gigi increased his scope from simply restoring the buildings and concentrated on the land too tidying up the woodland, recovering land for pasture, and fencing off different areas. In fact, to the incredulity of the original mountain dwellers, he has become something of a mountain man. Barbara learned all the secrets of alpaca rearing on the job. When they began, their flock consisted of four females (three of which were pregnant) and a stud, which they bought from breeders. Keeping animals is a neverending responsibility. That goes for all animals, even pets. Owning a small breeding centre demands dedication, daily sharing of lots of information and continuous attention. The foals grow, multiply, and need to be tended to throughout their various stages of life (from mating, to pregnancy and delivery).

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ISSUE 11 WINTER 2017

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One Colour, Many Hues - Anna’s Story (with a little help from solar dyeing and prickly pears) Words by Anna De Col Translation by Fuschia Hutton Photography by Elia Palange When we received Anna De Col’s story, straight out of Sardinia, about using opuntia dillenii (prickly pears) for dyeing, we tried to look up the definition of magenta. The only definition we could find was based on its production as a synthetic chemical in a lab (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magenta). But Anna’s magenta, or rather, her many hues of magenta, are the product of natural chemistry between a prickly pear, a pinch of salt, a dose of passion, and lots of sunshine!

How it all started Thirty-three years ago, I left my hometown of Turin to visit my friend Roberto in Sardinia. It was my first time there. Once back home, I waited 20 days then got straight back on my motorbike and returned to Sardinia. This time I stayed, got married, bought a plot of land, built a house on it, and lived off the land. And this is how our little family-run farming business began - without drinking water, without electricity, and without a phone. We adopted the Fukuoka Method (created by Masanobu Fukuoka, 1913-2008 www.onestrawrevolution.net/One_ Straw_Revolution/One-Straw_Revolution.html) and used it to cultivate olive groves, vines, and organic vegetables. To this end, we took courses on biodynamic agriculture, surrounded ourselves with books on dyeing with plants, with bees, with aromatic herbs, and with visiting friends... the guitar, a roaring fire, and making bread. It was all very romantic, but soon the reality of farming life hit, and it hit hard. Yet together, Roberto (with the determination instilled in him by generations of Sardinian ancestors) and I (with my typical north-eastern Italian stubbornness) stuck it out. Today our business produces five varieties of honey, aromatic herbs, oils, and for some years now we have also started cultivating some dye plants and foraging for wild varieties. And in fact, it is dye plants that have become my passion. Almost inevitably, that passion gave rise to my passion for wool dyeing. Today I am able to take care of

all stages of the process myself, from buying the fleeces straight from the farmers, to washing and dyeing, to carding and spinning.

Why I use prickly pears The prickly pear (opuntia dillenii) is one of the many varieties of opuntia, and is a small version of the Indian fig, which was imported from South America and introduced to some areas of the Mediterranean. It produces small spiky fruit, which mature in midwinter and vary in colour from magenta and Bordeaux, to royal purple and pink. In my search for dye plants to experiment with, I began to collect some prickly pears and tried to use them for dyeing using a traditional method - cooking them to extract the coloured pigments. The first results were very disappointing until my spinning teacher, Deborah Gray (in this issue), introduced me to solar dyeing with jars at the end of an improvement course. The method involves putting herbs, fruit, flowers, or roots into glass jars, adding water, and pre-mordanted wool or silk, closing the jars and leaving them in the sun for between 10 and 30 days, depending on the desired shade. The whole process uses no gas or electricity. Of course, I wanted to try it straight away with the prickly pears. The results were astonishing. The colours varied depending on where I collected the fruit, the season

ISSUE 11 WINTER 2017

YARN AND SPINNING Featuring: • For the Love of Yarn ... Spinning Yarn with Deborah Gray • A Story of Colour: Making Yarn from the Waste of Textile Mills • Step by Step by Sarah Cross • Spinning Vegetable Fibres in the Scottish Countryside

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For the Love of Yarn ... Spinning Yarn with Deborah Gray Interview by Michelle Challice Photography by Diane Milne and Deborah Gray

atural dyer, spinner, knitter and teacher; Deborah Gray is a multitalented practitioner obsessed with all things fibre. She has been sharing her extensive knowledge and love of her craft with students for over 30 years now.

Deborah views hand spinning as very much a contemporary craft. “I consider and reflect on my craft in a 21st century context. I use modern equipment and wool from sheep that have been improved by generations of breeding and I’m part of a world-wide textile community which relies on the Internet for communication and inspiration.”

Hand spinning is a natural progression for many people working with wool. There was also a huge drive for selfsufficiency in 1970s Britain, which may have played a part in Deborah’s conversion. “Although we never did get our own fibre animals it was certainly a goal for a while.” Deborah has managed, however, to cultivate dye gardens since the 1980s. She grows many of the dyestuffs for her work including coreopsis, fennel and fuchsia to name but a few and is currently experimenting with plant mordants.

Wool makes up a very high proportion of the fibre that Deborah uses in her work. “I understand people’s concerns about animal welfare but trust that in the UK at least we have welfare standards and controls, which means that wool can be and is produced without causing suffering. Most wool is a byproduct of the meat industry and if it wasn’t used it would be a difficult-to-dispose-of waste product. I’ll leave the ethics of the meat industry for a different discussion but it is a fact that currently the majority of the UK population eats meat. Rearing sheep for meat and wool also plays a role in 2. our agricultural economy. If we keep sheep at all, they need to be shorn for welfare reasons.”

For Deborah, there is something so satisfying about taking raw fleece, just as it came off the sheep, and transforming it in to orderly skeins of clean soft yarn, destined to be knitted into something unique, cosy and comforting. “I still get more satisfaction from starting with fleece than spinning industrially prepared fibre. I love being in control of all the characteristics of the yarn for whichever project I am working on: fibre type, colour, preparation and spinning technique to create exactly the yarn that I need.”

A big part of her work is teaching. “It was difficult to find a spinning class in the late 1970s when I started and I

The fibres’ individual characteristics are averaged out in commercial yarn, as the wool is blended from many sheep. Each batch of yarn that Deborah produces is unique. It comes from one animal and she can modify her technique to bring out the individual character of that fleece whether it is lustrous and drapey or matte and springy. It is this knowledge of fibre plus passion for colour and texture that Deborah brings to her work.

For centuries hand spinning was an essential household task. In some places the label “handspun” became associated with poverty. People turned away from the craft and the skills were lost. In other places it hung on as a curiosity for tourists or a specialist craft such as Shetland lace knitting. “We are lucky to live in an age when we can choose to spin and knit for pleasure, not necessity, and have access to a huge range of equipment and materials from all over the world to use.” Although there is this obvious connection to heritage, 4.

discovered the frustration of not having anyone to guide me when it didn’t go quite right. Once I felt confident enough in my own skills, I wanted to help others in the same position.” She really enjoys meeting the people who attend her classes and workshops. “We all have a common interest but are so different in many ways and I am fascinated to find out what motivates people to learn the skills I teach.” Teaching has also provided many travel opportunities. Since 2010 Deborah has been teaching in Italy and has run over 20 workshops there. She is also a regular guest tutor during Shetland Wool Week and will be teaching for the first time at next year’s Edinburgh Yarn Festival. The year 2018 is going to be a very busy year, as well as the above dates she will be running workshops in her hometown of Oban, Scotland. She is available to teach when in the UK but has planned to travel around Australasia, “soaking up inspiration”. The summer will be spent as Artist in Residence at the Icelandic National Textile Centre in Blonduos, where her programme of work will hopefully result in a travelling exhibition. Please visit her blog www. perfectweatherforspinningandknitting.blogspot.com where she will be posting confirmed teaching dates in 2018.

 FIND IT ONLINE Website: www.perfectweatherforspinningandknitting. blogspot.co.uk Instagram: @deborah.gray7 Ravelry: deborahgray 10.

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IN THE PICTURES: 1. Handspun Shetland Flock Book champion fleeces Puffin jumper --(detail of yoke) Jumper designed by Kate Davies. The Shetland Flock Book Association exists to ensure that the Shetland breed stays true to its characteristics. Each year there is a competition for fleeces, as well as classes for live sheep. The three coloured fleeces which won in 2015 feature in photos 1, 6, 9 (Bousta beanie contains all three) 2. Superfine Shetland fleece - unwashed 3. Shetland sheep 1 – coloured pure Shetland sheep belonging to A&J Robertson, Walls, Shetland 4. Deborah spinning - my first wheel bought in 1978 – Ashford Traditional 5. Deborah carding 6. Drafting fine black Shetland wool - drafting is the term for drawing out the fibres to the required thickness during spinning 7. Hand carders 8. Handspun Shetland grey knitted swatch 9. Spinning wheel bobbins 10. Handspun Shetland grey singles on bobbin and 3 ply yarn - yarn is plied for knitting to balance the twist. This yarn is equivalent in thickness to a commercial Double Knitting 11. Drum carding Blue Texel fleece - Blue Texel is the name of the breed of sheep, a naturally grey variant of the Texel breed 12. Handspun alpaca and wensleydale wool Foxpaws 1 – Foxpaws wrap designed by Xandy Peters. Yarn: 3 colours of undyed alpaca (black, ginger and grey) plus 2 colours of wensleydale wool both dyed in an exhausted indigo vat (pale pink and mother of pearl blue) 13. Blended shades – using hand carders to blend primary coloured wool fibres plus natural black and white to recreate colours inspired by nature - one learner’s results in my popular ‘Blending Coloured fibres’ workshop

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UPCYCLING HUB

ISSUE 11 WINTER 2017

Featuring: • Making Ridiculously Sparkly Art to Challenge Consumer Habits • Pyjamas with a Conscience

• Hunting and Gathering Fabric for Contemporary Fashion Designs • Sewing Today: From the Past to the Future • The Up-Cycled Cloth Collective

• Dress by The Ocean Corner 32

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Making Ridiculously Sparkly Art to Challenge Consumer Habits Words by Lynne Speake Lynne Speake is a out of the ordinary artist based in Cornwall who lives on an antique yacht with three wonderful dogs and her husband. She makes sparkly things from salvaged materials and through her giant sparkly wearable art at the Big Spotty Dog Studio she encourages us to question our consumption habits, especially the prevalence of plastic in our lives.

I class myself as an eco-artist. I make big wearable art! I think of my work as sculptures to be worn on the body more so than jewellery. Every piece is handcrafted and massive attention is paid to shape and structure. Each piece can take up to three days or more to make. They are wearable sculptures, they make a statement and they are not for the faint-hearted! Pieces evolve organically and inspiration comes from the beads themselves, colour and weird objects that I find and use. My brand is sparklylynne. I love texture, I love colour, I love pattern. I love glittery things, and I also love the ridiculous. Everything I create is unique; I never make the same thing twice and nowhere else on the planet will you find something the same. By sticking to my upcycled principles I hope that I am in some way helping the planet and raising awareness of the prominence of our plastic stockpile of stuff! Originally a painter, I came to Cornwall to do a masters degree. The act of living and studying in such a beautiful place pricked my ‘eco-conscience’, and I began to produce work that raises environmental awareness, questions consumer habits and also empowers others to feel like they too can make a difference. I now live off-grid on a 100 year old yacht (a Looe Lugger) with husband and three challenging rescued collies. I create my art just outside Falmouth in the Big Spotty Dog Studio, which reflects my work. It is wonderfully colourful, madly patterned, very eclectic and is home to very many odd objects and millions of beads - all are organised and colour batched and just waiting to find their way into my work. My art practice has followed many ‘arty’ paths before settling on my love of all things that sparkle but are not gold! Everything used (apart from the wire and jewellery findings) is re-purposed, found or gifted. I only buy from charity shops, and love the fact that everything has had another life with previous adventures and memories. Their individual elements have been elsewhere - my pieces all have stories to tell. Like my previous painting and upcycled textile work, pieces evolve organically and no matter how planned they are, something always happens. They develop in their own special way with a life of their own until they finally transform into something fabulous, quirky, and often quite ridiculous (but always beautiful). As part of my art practice I also run workshops in schools, community settings and at festivals where I teach others to make new things from their broken precious jewellery, heirlooms and childhood memorabilia. Through making something wonderful with things that they would normally just ‘leave in a drawer or even throw away’ people naturally start to question their consumer habits. The end result of using things that are cherished and have a personal history is that they become more special than something that has just been bought on the high street, produced in a sweat shop, or something made from plastic

ISSUE 11 WINTER 2017

In Search of Comfort, Easy-care and Elegance Interview by Naina Bajaria Photography by Elia Palange Model: Stéphanie Johnson

The maker

Liga Lielepetere, the founder of LL Knittings, is always looking for a comfortable and elegant combination in her wardrobe. Her aim is to design a kind of knitwear that is comfortable to wear and easy to care for.

About the items “The grey jumper, which I named ‘RIB Jumper’, is probably my favourite piece in the collection. The pattern for this jumper is quite difficult to make as I use a simple hand knitting machine not an industrial machine. It took me many hours and days to find the right technique, but my hand machine helps to give the knitwear a more handmade look, which is the result I want and love. The round cardigan is from my other bestselling cardigan. The design is very special because of its elegance, lightness, unity and flowing lines. And I adore the combination of Super Kid Mohair and Silk. It’s a win win combination, as it achieves a light but warm and comfortable piece of knitwear.”

About sustainable fashion “The fashion industry is the fastest growing in the world and it reflects our thoughts and actions in real life. Behind every stitch and seam stand real people with their own passions and fears. I love independent designers, they are my inspirations. They use their own colour and pattern combinations that are not dictated from the heads of fashion and the big labels. My contribution would be not to pollute the environment with unnecessary garments that lose their shape and quality after the first wash. This might be unthinkable from a business point of view, but I truly believe that less is more; have one good jumper than five “poor quality” jumpers.”

 FIND IT ONLINE Facebook: @llknittings

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ISSUE 11 WINTER 2017

FROM PETROLEUM TO ALGAE:

STORIES BEHIND EVERYDAY OBJECTS

New Directions in the Ink Industry

Featuring: • Living Ink • The Refill Revolution • Snact • Leftover Pie

Hi Scott, thanks so much for agreeing to answer a few questions for No Serial Number Magazine. First of all, how did you get to study algae and how did you get into ink? My dad is a professor of plant biology here at Michigan State University so I grew up learning science all the time. I have always been interested in pursuing science but I never gave too much thought about algae until I was first year student in college and needed to gain some experience and make a little bit of money and so the only position open was a job to study algae. At the time studying algae was more for ecological reasons, so understanding why there are algal blooms and why these harm ecosystems, but I learnt a lot about algae and became fascinated by what they can do just by using sunlight to create a material essentially.

Project for the Planet: • Riverwood Acoustics • 22 Degrees • Sustain

Tell me more about these algal blooms... People are starting to realise that we can take this idea of algae growing really fast and turn it into domesticated systems. We can use the algae for products, such as biofuels, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and in our case, ink. Biofuels are a huge challenge as there’s a lot of fuel being used. Algae are a potential solution but not that profitable right now because while we need trillions and trillions of gallons of petroleum for fuel, we only need millions or billions of pounds for ink. So, one day I was shopping for a greeting card at one of our local stores here in Colorado and noticed that there was just a lot of colour on the cards. It was one of those moments… I went into the molecular biology of it and thought, wait, what is ink? I have no idea what ink is so I did some research and found out that ink is mostly a petroleumbased product. The pigments are petroleum; a lot of the base that carries those pigments is also petroleum. So I thought, could we use algae as an ink replacement? I could literally see algae glued on paper or cardboard. It’s been fun to get into the ink industry and understand all the challenges. It’s been a weird evolution from biology, into algae and then into ink. What kind of colours can you make with ink? Do you have a full palette? Right now, we’re using natural colours so we’ve got blues and orange. We’ve developed black from the algae pigment. Obviously there’s a lot of green. Part of what our company is doing in the next two years is basically to develop cyan, magenta, and yellow. Once we have these colours we can mix those pigments to get a lot more colours. Right now, we have flexographic and offset ink formulations. For the flexographic ink, we have just done a first run on a commercial printer, which is a water-based flexographic printer. Half the ink was water and the other about 25% was made of algal cells. The other components were just additives to make things more or less viscous. So at the end of this process we want to have

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a full colour palette. We are also developing a variety of different inks. One of the misconceptions that people have is that once you’ve got the ink you have everything. Really though, it depends on the substrate you’re printing on, the machine that you’re using to print etc. so there are a lot of variables that go into what the ink formulation is.

for companies looking for just kind of a flyer or a postcard with a really sustainable ink, which has a 90% better carbon footprint than most inks. Then we have one that has 50% or 60% better carbon footprint but it’s waterproof, you can’t rub it off but it’s less sustainable because we’ve put more components to make it do what it needs to do in terms of toxicity, we’re making inks that are completely biodegradable; they’re not biodegradable over a thousand of years but within literally days or months after being used. One of the problems that we identified in the ink industry is that there aren’t many super biodegradable types of ink and we know that ours is. It’s a sustainability story but also for larger companies is a marketing story, in the sense of ‘hey, you can take our box and in the compost pile will completely biodegrade, you don’t have to worry about the safety of the chemicals’.

In our magazine, we talk a lot about heritage, so I wanted to ask you if there’s a particular tradition that inspired the use of algae? No, not really. It’s kind of funny because you know when you got back to what ink was, like thousands of years ago natural colours were used. There wasn’t really petroleum back then. So in some ways we’re going back to making things more naturally but as far as I know no one has ever used algae before. However, there’s some trade outs for what we’re doing. For example, we don’t use ink on billboards because if you leave the ink in sunlight for three hundred days, it will start to fade faster than petroleum. We also have a mission that says, maybe we should make products in the world, especially in terms of packaging and disposable products, that are meant to break down. Maybe everything shouldn’t be Styrofoam with petroleum ink so that lasts for hundreds and thousands of years. Maybe we should make a coffee sleeve and a coffee cup printed in ink that actually will fade in a couple of hours because that’s what we want it to do.

Are you planning to use ink as a replacement of the ink that I would use in the printer? Right now, that’s considered digital printing, and that’s about ten per cent of the printing market. However, that’s also the fastest and probably the only growing market in the ink industry. Packaging, consumers, everyone is going to go towards digital printing. For commercialisation, our end goal is to have inkjet ink or work with a large company like HP and Dell that have already printers out there and can get our ink into their printers.

How sustainable it is to use algae in a mass scale production? Where do you source you algae from and how sustainable it is to take it to large-scale production? We are working to refine all those numbers, i.e. carbon footprint. Right now we have sources that grow algae from all over the world, including Hawaii. One of the companies that we’re working with uses marine ocean water to grow the algae and then when they are done with the water, they put the water back in the ocean. In this way, we’re not using fresh drinkable water to grow these crops. So there’s a lot of work with the growers who are essentially algae farmers and they do a lot of work to do it more sustainably. At scale, traditionally 20% of ink isn’t the pigment so this is what we’re focused on. Traditionally, you’d pull oil out of the ground and turn it into ink. What we’re doing is, algae are like trees so they’re actually pulling carbon dioxide out of the air and turning it into the biomass that does the pigment. So we’re actually pulling carbon dioxide out of the air to make our products. I would say at a minimum, algae ink has a 60% better carbon footprint than traditional ink and that’s our least eco friendly ink product. I always say that we have these levers that we work on. We have one type of ink that’s literally algae, water and one other component. It will fade quickly, it might not be waterproof but it’s very sustainable. This ink is suitable

Who is your market? What has been the public’s feedback about this ink? The reaction has been good, I am sure that if you interview a lot of sustainable companies, they may say that everybody loves sustainability. People want to make the world safer, cleaner and the question is however, will they change their behaviour or will they pay for the sustainability? We are not going to make ink that is cheaper than petroleum ink because petroleum is so cheap and so plentiful. When I talk to people or give a talk, people love the idea of using biodegradable and sustainable materials but the jury is still out if it’s going to be successful in the long run, if people will want to buy it. In terms of businesses, really that’s what we’re focused on right now, i.e. doing packaging for large businesses because for them there’s not only the issue of sustainability, but also a marketing story. I think those companies have the resources to tell the marketing story and to use the product and have their customers really like that they use it. I guess the verdict is still out on individual consumers. It’s hard to be credible and change people’s behaviour. Get in touch with Living Ink via their website www.livingink.co and Instagram @livinginktech

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ZERO WASTE SHOP www.therefillrevolution.com

Buying Bulk for the Community: Join the Refill Revolution Hi Brittney, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us at No Serial Number Magazine. When did you open your online shop and why? My online shop launched in June of this year. I started my shop because a lot of people around the US are fortunate enough to have access to bulk refill and zero waste stores in their town or somewhere nearby, but I realised there were still a lot of people in need of zero waste options. I realised my offering wasn’t the perfect solution but it was better than the alternative of having nothing.

the large containers, I then personally take them to our local recycling facility to avoid contamination and make sure they are properly recycled. We have an amazing recycling facility in Boulder! What were the main challenges you faced when you opened your online shop in terms of packaging? I am super lucky when it comes to my packaging materials, as I live five miles from one of the most eco-friendly suppliers of shipping materials in the US. I guess my largest challenge was trying to keep the costs low for my customers throughout the shipping process when I was paying more for eco-friendly materials. I think my customers and myself would both agree it’s worth to pay a little more to not receive a box full of plastic material.

I see that you’re based near Denver, Colorado, can you tell us something interesting about the place where live? I am based in Boulder, Colorado (close to Denver). Boulder was just voted the happiest city in the US! If you ever visit, you’ll understand why! Boulder is also located right on the front range of the mountains and 45 minutes from the Rocky Mountain National Park entrance. We are surrounded by so much beauty here!

What are the products that you’d like to sell but cannot currently stock due to packaging issues? I had a few issues when I was ordering some of my products through a distributor with their excessive, unnecessary packaging. Once it became clear to me that they weren’t going to switch their packaging options for whatever reason, I looked for those products elsewhere. I’ve been able to work directly with companies who are willing to adjust their packaging materials, if they don’t already ship eco-friendly.

Do you think people are becoming more and more ecoconscious in the areas where you live? What do you think it’s driving the change of mind-set? Definitely! Boulder, Colorado is labelled as a “zero-waste” community. Throughout the community you will see trash, recycle, compost stations. I think actions like this are bringing awareness to the community, as well as non-profit organisations in the area educating people on making less trash. We still have a long way to go, but I am confident we will keep making progress!

You recently told me that you’re opening a storefront, can you tell me a little bit about the journey from online store to physical shop? What encouraged you to take the leap? I just opened the doors to my storefront in Boulder, Colorado in November of 2017! I wanted to eliminate packaging as much as possible and I wanted to offer a space where people could come and fill their own containers as opposed to me sending the pouches. I knew I was (and still am) filling a gap for people in a lot of different areas by offering my refill pouch service, but to me it was ideal to offer a storefront for this type of service. I also wanted a low-waste resource/education centre in our community where we could host events and grow together.

Can you give me a brief description of the household products you sell and in what ways they are eco-friendly? I sell a lot of different household products, but the main bulk, household products I offer are: dish soap, dishwasher gel, glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, and laundry detergent. I purchase these from a plant-based company and receive them all in five gallon buckets… one large container is way better than hundreds of small ones! Once I am finished with

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ISSUE 11 WINTER 2017

Eco-Friendly Ideas Eco-friendly products carefully selected for you!

FOR THE HOME TWIST CANISTER DUO, £20.00 These are a fanatic set if you like taking your snacks out and about.

Do you want your green product to feature here? Send us an email to info@noserialnumber.org

www.elephantbox.co.uk These steinless stell tins are great for every day use as they are lightweight and secure. They are also good for camping or excursions, or to keep your grapes from getting squished while you're at work!

FOR THE BODY FAMILY CLOTH A set of 5 handmade cloth wipes that can be used instead of toilet roll. By The Phoenix Green Store COCONUT, ROSE & WALNUT LIP, HAND & BODY BUTTER, £12.95 By Leafology www.leafology.co.uk

FOR HIM BLACK SEED STUBBLE & BEARD OIL, £17.55 By Leafology www.leafology.co.uk

All cloths are double layered and made from recycled cotton and towelling. Kate from the Pheonix Store supports zero waste and plastic free solutions. Many other alternative products are available in her store, including beeswax wraps and UnPaperTowels.

BACK SCRUBS, £12 Made from the Masters of Linen long staple linen yarn (grown and spun in Europe) and out of high quality cotton according the Öko-Tex standard.

BLOOMING ECO TOILET CLEANER, £1.99 These products are biodegradable, phosphate free and made with sustainably sourced plant derived ingredients so they are kind to the environment, septic tanks and sewage treatment systems, as well as the home and family. These are made in the Wirral, so ideal for UK residents.

ECOLEAF DISHWASHER TABLETS, £4.99 Dishwasher tablets made with a plant-based, cruelty free and vegan formula. www.drainswirral.com/store The tablets have a soluble wrapper to reduce waste. With a powerful cleaning action, built-in rinse aid and degreasing agents, th ecoleaf promise these dishwasher tablets will leave dishes and glasses sparking clean. The dishwasher tablets are biodegradable and suitable for septic tanks.’

FOR THE CHILDREN

By AndKeep www.andkeep.com

SET OF 12 BLACKBOARD CHALKS, £8.10

‘It is a perfect way to exfoliate in the bath or shower and rub away those cares. ‘

www.consciouscraft.uk

The strong colour pigments in Mercurius’ blackboard chalk allow for luscious applications.

COTTON BUDS, £2.25 Made from bamboo and soft cotton 100% biodegradable By Andkeep www.andkeep.com No more plastic sticks floating in the seas or washed up on the beaches. After using these cotton buds, you can dispose them into your organic waste, bin or compost. They come in a lovely box made from recycled cardboard. 100 cotton buds per box. All of Hydrophil’s products are water-neutral, vegan & fair-trade. 10% of profits go to a charity providing access to clean drinking water. Many supermarkets have turned to platic free cotton buds made of paper, but if you want something a little sturdier, this product is for you.

PLASTIC FREE TAPE, £6 100% biodegradable recycled paper tape with a natural latex adhesive backing. www.anythingbutplastic.co.uk WOODEN LYRA PENCIL SHARPENER, £1.99 www.consciouscraft.uk

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CRAFT KITS BLACKBERRY CRAFTERS

www.blackberrycrafters.com

RUSTIC GIFT WRAP KIT, £25 This lovely rustic gift-wrapping kit includes everything you need to beautifully wrap at least 8 small-medium gifts. Give your gifts that extra-special finish and apply your own creative flair with this natural kit.

NATURAL PAINT STARTER KIT, £14.50 By Alison Faith Kay www.alisonfaithkay.com Originally beginning her painting journey using acrylics, Alison Faith Kay quickly realised that she couldn't continue to use a product that caused such harm. She hated the thought of touching the toxic pigments and breathing in the chemical fillers/preservatives, let alone being responsible for bringing more plastic into the world via the paint's binder. So, she sold all her supplies and began a journey of learning how to make her own paint using natural pigments. Two years later and, now creating art in a natural studio, she's developed a Natural Paint Starter Kit so that others can dip their toes (or fingers!) into the world of creating with nature.

COLOUR NATURAL WALL HANGING WEAVING KIT, £50 This weaving set is for the natural yarn lovers out there! No need to have had previous weaving experience as the kit comes with starter instructions. The kit includes everything you need to weave a wall hanging or you may have something else in mind if you have previous weaving experience.

Trying an alternative to easily-accessible, commercial products often requires a lot of research and is costly. Alison wanted to enable others to try natural paint without that hard work and expense. So, not only does the kit include a booklet that walks you through making the exact paint she uses in her own practice, but the quantities are perfect for really having some fun without needing to spend lots of money buying supplies in bulk. Inside the kit you'll find five vibrant, non-toxic, natural pigments, along with milk and borax powder to make a paint binder and full instructions on how to create and use this earthcentred alternative to standard paint. Initially unsure about bringing another product into the world, and yet passionate about lessening the use of standard, polluting artist paint, she carefully researched packaging. It has resulted in a product that is housed in recycled, recyclable and reusable packaging... She even includes cardboard from used cereal boxes and sends the kits out with bubble wrap she's saved from old parcels.

LUXURY PURE WOOLPOM POM KIT, £25

She says, “working with natural paint has changed my life. Not only do I feel in alignment with my values when I create art, but the process of working with natural pigments connects me to the earth in such a joyful way. And the And the colours are out of this world!

This beautiful, 100% wool pom pom kit comes with everything you need to make gorgeous pom pom decorations. Included in the kit is The Robot tool from The Loome which can be used for weaving, pom pom making and tassel making.

Coming soon ...

THE ECO PRINT WORKBOOK • Over 150 pages of content • Lots of tutorials • Different techniques and materials • Tools of the artist • Plenty of space for note taking • Extensive directory Want to be part of this project? Send us an email to info@noserialnumber.org

WINTER COMPETITION To receive a box of assorted wool fibres and yarn balls fill out our seasonal survey by following the link below. A winner will be selected in March 2018!

No Serial Number Winter Issue 2017, The Yarn Special