The deep fascination for honest, raw, and organic materials combined with a mutual approach to bold ideas and curiosity for exploration, ignited the collaboration journey between Natural Material Studio and FRAMA. This creative partnership originated at the beginning of 2021 with the idea of challenging people’s perception of what materials truly are and what they can become.

“I design interactive user experiences with a playful yet visionary approach, constantly exploring the potential in the unseen. That allows me to create highly sensory experiences that offer, at the same time, an insight of nature’s available resources and how to use those creatively,” says Bonnie Hvillum, Founder of

Natural Material Studio.

The first public showcase and approach to materiality between both studios was presented at FRAMA’s

Utilitarian Living exhibition during 3 days of design, September 16-18, 2021. All visitors were encouraged to explore and discover the new-age materials based on seaweed, pine needles, and other natural waste components that seamlessly intertwine with the simple forms of essential living.

The work captures the essence of explorative matter, both in the early process of conceptualising the installation as well as the final pieces in the installation. Through sensing, the materials are meant to evoke new reflections upon what materials are and can be. Furthermore, the installation is meant to explore the borderland between functional objects and unique art pieces installed in windows and doors, simulating Japanese inspired curtains. The clothing silhouettes are meant as abstract illustrations of a utilitarian living. All the materials are fully natural, circular and biodegradable, opening up for new ways of handling materials in closed loop systems.

The materials used for the installation:

- Main room & clothing silhouettes: Our seaweed fabric Alger based on seaweed extract and softener

and dyed with the Spirulina algae

- Apothecary room: Terracotta from our collection of clay pigmented bio fabrics, based on a protein based binder extracted from collagen and a natural softener.

- Door openings: B-foam, a foam material we have been developing on since 2019, in this case used as a thin textile. The material is based on the same protein binder and a foaming technique, making the material cure with all the air bobbles encapsulated within.