MEET PHOEBE LEWIS - CREATING PIGMENTS FROM SEAWEED FOR INDUSTRIAL TEXTILE PRINTING?
“Colour is everywhere and the most vibrant colours we see in products come from the most toxic sources yet most of these colours exist in nature. We need to establish new pigment origins that work symbiotically with material production and to find circularity in all stages of the process.” Phoebe Lewis
Phoebe Lewis is an industrial designer focusing on developing products that help restore marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
Inspired by her seafaring grandparents and her growing affiliation for the coastline, which she further developed during her time studying at Northumbria University. Her practice is firmly rooted in the belief that restoration and community collaboration are vital to the progression of sustainable, harmonious design.
Phoebe recently graduated with a First-Class Honours in BA Design for Industry. She continues to expand on her research into the UK's macro algae industry and aims to develop a more comprehensive pigment range from seaweed.
It’s a year since graduation and the awards keep rolling in….winning New Designers and GREEN GRADS, she is an inspiration to her generation. We caught up to find out more:
Which university did you attend and why did you choose this faculty?
I studied Design for Industry at Northumbria University in Newcastle, graduating in 2021 with a First-Class Honours. One of the main things that drew me to the course at Northumbria was the industry placement opportunities in 2nd and 3rd year. I ended up working in New York at a ceramics studio in second year which was just the most incredible experience! I also chose Northumbria University because of its closeness to the sea - during my time there I spent a lot of it cycling back and forth to the coast.
What inspired you to look at the inks used for textile printing?
During the research stages of my project I wanted to showcase seaweed in a way that it would not normally be recognised - I discovered that to be its abundance of unusual pigments. This led to more research and discovery and has helped continue the project further into multiple possible applications. I chose ink initially because during lockdown I began experimenting with what I could make from home and this very naturally progressed into textile dye baths as well as trying other methods such as block printing with thicker ink recipes.
Tell us about your graduate showcase and your natural inks?
My graduate project research showed that no one thing is inherently sustainable, it’s how we use it that makes it sustainable - or not - and I think that seaweed is an incredibly beautiful and diverse resource that is currently very plentiful, so aside from promoting seaweed with the pigments and inks I’ve produced, I’m also building a network of people to support the sustainable growth of the industry. The seaweed industry in the UK is at a unique pinch point where we are still able to define how it grows. It would be incredibly sad to see seaweed end up as just another over-extracted and misused resource that becomes a hindrance to future generations. It is important to continue working with marine restoration and rewilding projects to ensure the cultivation of seaweed farms doesn’t result in the same resource exploitation that has happened with agricultural farming and other aquaculture practices. There has also been a rise in consumer demand for transparency in sourcing and production of materials and products which my work aims to highlight and restore value within coastal communities, environment and the surrounding architecture.
When looking at pollution and toxic chemicals what did you discover?
Unfortunately I found nothing shocking, the climate crisis is as much of a crisis as it can get - we need immediate and drastic action to take place. My project showed me that it's no good making one section of an industry 'sustainable' when the entire web of transactions isn't. This is why I found it important to understand the seaweed industry infrastructure in the UK and work to develop better and more localised supply chains. This is particularly apparent in pigment production and with textiles.
Colour is everywhere and the most vibrant colours we see in products come from the most toxic sources yet most of these colours exist in nature. We need to establish new pigment origins that work symbiotically with material production and to find circularity in all stages of the process.
How can the textile industry better address its environmental impact?
Be accountable. There are some wonderful textile / fashion organisations paving the way for our future, but at the moment, because of larger corporations and lack of legal action from governments, too much of the responsibility is still falling on the consumer. I don't understand how companies that exploit both people and the planet have been or will ever be considered good.
What recommendations would you like to see implemented?
I'd like to see full transparency in supply chains and accountability at every stage. It would be great to localise production as much as possible and put a stop to fast fashion. I hope to see more research and conversation happening between industries, because without that fluidity in ideas, my entire project wouldn't have been able to happen.
Tell us about your Green Grads / New Designers awards and why these initiatives are so valuable to your career and the next generation?
I am so thankful to Marianne Shillingford and the other judges from the Colour in Design Award at New Designers, because I was truly welcomed into a community and network of people who are just so determined to see me and the project reach its potential - most of these conversations and collaborations are still taking place and growing as the project develops which is really exciting! Through Marianne, I was introduced to Barbara Chandler and I became a part of the wonderful GREEN GRADS which is a growing platform and community of graduates with ideas to heal the planet. From this we have exhibited at Coal Drops Yard during the London Design Festival, Grand Designs Live and Milan Design Week - with other opportunities in between! Without these awards, exhibitions and connections I wouldn't have been able to showcase my work, nor would I have met like minded creatives trying to navigate the world with similar ambitions to my own. Graduate showcases and awards are so important to kickstarting the progression of university work into real world businesses.
What’s next for Phoebe Lewis and how can the printing industry help you with your research and objectives?
At the moment I'm doing some exhibition prep work as I've been short-listed for the C-IDEA award in Industrial Design and will be exhibiting my work at Tallinn Design Festival in September and in Australia at the end of the year. I am also currently involved in the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership accelerator programme for women in innovation which is constantly inspiring me and pushing me to develop a more in-depth roadmap for my company Alternate Catch. The next steps are really exciting and one of the most important aspects to me is business and industry collaboration which is why I am looking for funding and collaborations in order to contextualise these ocean pigments into products as well as further developing extraction and production methods. Alongside this I will continue to work with fishermen in the coastal towns to help manage the expansion of production as demand increases.
