Using SolidWool Sheet Material - Bio-Resin & Wool Composite
I have a small confession to make.
I used resin. This was a decision that’s gone round and round in my head recently due to the fact I wanted this platform to be about using the most ethically sourced material and processes possible. Which it still is, but I want to expand the materials I use and experiment with as many new, innovative & sustainable materials as possible moving forward.
Thats why, when this exciting opportunity came along via Box 9 Architecture & Design Studio to make four tables for a restaurant using Solidwool, I jumped at it.
Some of you may have heard about them as they’ve been around for a while. But for those of you who haven’t, they are a company based in Devon, who use wool and bio resin to make a fiberglass-like composite material.
The blend is 50% wool 50% resin. And the resin is 50% bio-based renewable content, which are by products of industrial processes such as bio-fuel production and paper making. The particular wool used is too coarse to be spun and used for knitting and doesn’t dye well, so would often be disposed of.
In recent times, they have expanded their offering of products to sheet material. That’s what we’ve used to make these tables and I’m pretty happy with the result!
The most important thing in this endeavour and throughout my life is honesty, and I want to be as transparent as possible along this journey of designing and making pieces, as I feel this movement is growing and so many in the industry just say things to stay on trend or keep relevant without proof or transparency.
So yes I used resin, not only as Solidwool sheets but also to bond the 10mm sheets together to make the 20mm thickness needed. I used West System two part epoxy for this but I know there were better options I could have used. If any of you have any suggestions and experience with bio-resins please reach out.
I used West Systems as I’ve used it before and I know it’s bloody good and would do the job for years and years; I had limited time to order it and a lot of the bio-resin options were coming from Europe; it’s been super cold recently and the bio-resin options I was looking at had a higher setting temperature and longer curing time so unfortunately I didn’t get to use a better option.
In all, for tables that could last a lifetime or two, I felt these compromises in sustainability were justified. Obviously there’s always room for improvement and I only want to get better and more conscious of my impact.
