Serendipity and Innovation
By Helen Fox
Eve Waldron Design were invited to visit the Vepa furniture factories in Holland where we saw their commitment to sustainability and heard the story of the development of the Hemp chair: the “Most sustainable chair ever. 100 % organic, 100 % biodegradable and 100 % recyclable.”
The story of how this product came into being was a reflection of how the progress of science is often:
1) Helped by serendipity: an experiment goes ‘wrong’; when looking for one thing, something completely different happens
2) Moved on by people from diverse and varying backgrounds managing to put two and two together
A recent example of these happening was the discovery of a new blue dye at an American university department. The scientist had been studying a particular chemical with electronic properties that he wanted to use in computer hard drives. Instead he got an intense blue, stable pigment; the first discovered in two centuries. It was, however, only due to his previous background in industry that he realised that this was an important and rare discovery[1].
At Vepa, we heard about work done at the University of Amsterdam where a Professor of Catalysis was experimenting with developing a new biofuel. What he in fact got was a sticky mess! This resin turned out to be biobased and biodegradable and something that can be used instead of petroleum based polymers[2]. Vepa had been searching for many years for a fully biobased binder. This plant derived substance, combined with local Dutch Hemp, provided a breakthrough. The Hemp chair range was developed[3] and we used it recently at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership[4].
In a talk given by the main designer at Vepa, it was interesting to learn that the inspiration for the pigments that they are testing on the hemp seats were inspired by a conversation with a family member who was a baker. He put forward coffee as a possibility for colouring, as it is really hard to find natural dyes that are able to withstand the high temperatures needed to mould and set the hemp. The main designer also used charcoal from his home fire as another natural darkening agent. The test results can be seen here: charcoal on left and coffee on right.
Inspiration can come from many sources and it is great for designers to have a wide range of interests and experiences. As Steve Jobs once wrote: “If you don’t have a broad range of interests, there is nothing for you to contribute to whatever it is that you are making that will make it unique.”[5]