Jane Wright

Jane Wright, is a textile and product designer from Belgium using waste as her primary resource.

In her latest work, she focuses her research on the innovative use of materials and the design of tools to repurpose waste from textile streams into domestic objects and installations. Aware of the wider system and the social implication of its production, she explores the re-use and local re-manufacturing process of what is currently considered waste by the textile industry. Design for emotional durability and circularity are key drivers of her work and collaborations.

Three years ago, she set up GILBARD in Brussels : a multidisciplinary design studio/organisation bringing together artists, designers, and architects to explore the use of materials sourced from different waste streams while engaging with the local community around this preoccupation. Conceived as a shared space, GILBARD is dedicated to the transmission and creation with local resources, it actively aims to reshuffle and rethink our contemporary production methods within the city of Brussels.

The ability to develop tools and socio-material relations is fundamental to what defines us as a society. Whether rudimentary or technologically advanced, we engineer systems to shape artifacts in order to meet our needs and sculpt our landscape.

Reflecting on my background in Industrial Design followed by a BA in Textile Design, allowed me to develop my practice by cross-pollinating industry processes related to hard materials and applying them to what is considered to be soft.

I started exploring the re-use and re-manufacturing process of material that is considered waste by the textile industry, with a strong interest in developing resilient systems in local manufacturing through the design of tools and machinery.

SYSTEMS - The current state of what we know as “industry” transforms resources made available while having to face the constant flow of waste. This era of abundance is reaching its own limits and this is not a secret. In this context, a material-oriented approach re-frames our practice away from material-intensive behavior and towards a more holistic and rooted conception of what design catalyzes.

RESOURCES - The reclassification of waste byproducts requires us to reframe material status to avoid the direct destruction of valuable materials. Collaborating with a wide range of disciplines we can develop alternative and accessible design strategies with a lower environmental impact. This can be done through the reevaluation and adaptation of equipment and processes towards a more resourceful production.

RE/FRAME - Researching rethought matter and adapted processes investigate different waste collection methods in order to facilitate its recovery. While moving away from the prevailing tendency toward uniformity associated with mass production. My approach explores design protocols that allow for material irregularities and scale-up processes.

CUTTING-EDGE / an exploration of re-use and re-manufacturing processes for waste selvedges

The weaving of fabric inherently creates tons of blended surplus called selvedges or loom tapes during the industrial weaving process. Used to secure both edges of the main fabric, the selvedges are trimmed on the loom directly. When recycling is not an option, Cutting-edge offers an alternative for material re-generation to avoid incineration of valuable materials (merino wool, cashmere, silk).

This research investigates the potential for developing domestic products that build bridges between mills, local textile manufacturers, and social organisations that can benefit from the reuse of selvedges.

The project is structured into three different phases:

_A landscape exploration of loom tape waste within the textile industry.

_The adaptation of technical equipment to collect this specific waste within weaving manufacturing.

_The recontextualisation of selvedges, into a series of designed products.

TABO is a series of domestic objects that repurpose waste selvedges from the Scottish woven industry. The results play with the functionality of textile upholstery and present versatile uses of textiles objects. The textile and structure can be used together or independently, with each having its own lifecycle.

The making process explores protocols designed to select and generate evolving combinations of color and textures with the waste available.

Circularity collectible design Furniture recovery Reuse Sustainability Textiles waste wool

Opportunities for waste selvedges recovery process

Coiling selvedges to sort and re-use waste selvedges into rethought textiles

Mapping the variety of waste selvedges and its anatomy

To facilitate the reuse and remanufacturing processes of this surplus, this research operates from the sorting phase to the potential transformation of selvedges into a viable product. The machine is attached to the loom, able to simultaneously wind the selvedges and create new textile products while the main fabric is woven. The development of this machine investigates scaling-up perspectives for sustainable selvedge management and recovery process.

Circularity local-manufacturing Making Process Waste

Waste selvedges currently end up tangled in a bin next to the loom which reduces drastically its chances to be repurposed. In order to facilitate the reuse and remanufacturing processes of this surplus, I designed a system allowing weaving factories to repurpose their largest waste into rethought textile products for interiors.

Waste analysis is essential to understanding the volume and potential of waste selvedges. This collection of Jacquard weaves communicates the scale of its recovery, blurring the lines between the data calculation and what quantity this waste actually represents. The Data visualisation incorporates the materiality of its own waste analysis.

Medium:

Jacquard woven panels using recovered wool

Size:

120cm x 90cm

Discussion

A graphic of various fabric and paper scraps, bordering a navy blue fabric background with wavy lines of text reading 'Borderlines of Textile Practice, 29th June, 11.15 to 11.45 am'

Borderlines of Textiles practice - Redefining TextilesWednesday 29 June 10:15 (GMT +0)

The Big BeyondTextiles (MA)

Jane Wright

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Royal College of Art

Jane Wright

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Coats Foundation, Alex Begg, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles

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Royal College of Art