Lecture programme Friday 10 March
The lectures are in English, unless otherwise indicated. The lecture programme is subject to change.
Theater 1
Theater 2
The future of textiles part 1
In this series of lectures, we will explore the latest developments and trends in the textile industry, and how they are shaping the future of fashion and interior design.
Moderator: Samira Boon
Waste as a resource part 1
The speakers in this programme will explore how waste materials can be repurposed and reused to create new products and reduce the environmental impact of our waste.
Moderator: Leonne Cuppen

10:45 – 11:15
Ellen Mensink, Brightfiber Textiles
De toekomst van circulair textiel en de potentie voor merken en designers (NL)
Ellen Mensink is the founder of Loop.a life and Brightfiber Textiles. Ellen is a business economist (UvA) and creative (part-time Rietveld Academy for 2 years). About seven years ago she founded Brightloops BV/ Loop.a life; the first 100% circular knitwear brand from Dutch soil. Later Brightfiber Textiles was added; Private Label producer of 100% circular yarns for other brands and textile companies, made from residual flows from the waste mountain.

11:00 – 11:30
Jouke Boorsma, AquaMinerals
Giving (waste)water residuals a second life
Jouke Boorsma is business developer for the Energy and Resource Factory. He studied technology and innovation policies at the
University of Technology Eindhoven and has 20 years of experience in translating ambitions into projects in both developing and developed countries.

11:20 – 11:50
Mirthe Snoek, Hollands Wol Collectief
Dutch sheep’s wool, from waste product on a global scale to local circular basic material
Mirthe Snoek is a pragmatic designer with a passion for sustainable materials in the built environment. Designers have possibly the highest impact on creating a sustainable future, a responsibility she is willing to take. Together with Janne de Hoop, she founded the Hollands Wol Collectief in summer 2021. Since then the team has expanded, the first batch of 10.000 kg is processed and several collaborative projects are in progress to increase the application of all wool.


11:35 – 12:05
Sarmite Polakova & Roua AlHalabi
The many Lives of Colour
Studio Sarmite is a natural materials design and research studio. Led by Latvian designer Sarmite Polakova, the studio work focuses on transforming industry waste and various byproducts into new high-quality materials that can be brought back to the market.
Roua Atelier is set up by Roua AlHalabi, a natural dye specialist in the textile industry who combines many diverse developing natural pigments and forgotten techniques.

12:10 – 12:40
Simone Post, Studio Simone Post
Post productions
Simone Post (*1990, Utrecht, the Netherlands) is a multidisciplinary designer with roots in textiles, based in Rotterdam. She graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven with honours in 2015 and has won numerous national and international awards. Post’s work delves deep into color, surface, and print. Her focus is on bold and unexpected usages of materials, striving to preserve crafts and nurture sustainability. Her work has been exhibited worldwide from Brasil, China, Italy, India, US, to Moscow, and has been acquired by multiple museums, including the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, the Centraal Museum, Utrecht, and the Cooper Hewitt, New York.

12:25 – 12:55
Basse Stittgen
Tree of Culture
The work of Basse Stittgen (1990) is positioned at the intersection of design, art and material research. It stems from a fascination for matter, how it can be created, cared for, and questioned to unfold hidden narratives. He graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2017 and since then his work has been exhibited at the V&A Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the NGV Melbourne and the 13th Shanghai Biennale of Architecture. It is part of the collection of the MAK Vienna, the Fundatie Museum Zwolle and the Wellcome Collection.

12:45 – 13:15
Iris Houthoff, Mylium
Fungal textiles
Iris Houthoff is founder and director of Mylium, a Dutch start-up developing fungal textiles from mycelium. She has been a lecturer in Bioprocess Engineering at Wageningen University and has always felt driven to contribute to a circular and biobased society. With Mylium, it is her mission to offer brands and designers a viable and scalable alternative to synthetic textiles. She is looking forward to introducing you to her company and discussing potential product applications of their novel textiles.

13:00 – 13:30
Zuzanna Skurka
Immediate prototyping and naive material translation: How can we make senses and understand materials around us better
Zuzanna Skurka is a designer, craftsman, researcher, and material translator. Graduated from The Royal Danish Academy, School of Architecture, Design and Conservation, currently working as a freelance creative. Her practice is characterized by the cross-disciplinary approach, translation between materials, systems, and ways of understanding. In her recent work, she is analyzing modern brick production and proposes alternative tools to reimagine architecture.
break lecture
By: Green Product Award
Break lecture
By: Interface
13:20 – 13:50
Green Product Award Audience Winners presentations
Within the Green Product Award two levels of Awards are given, one is by the Jurors and another one is coming from a public voting.
This year 50.000 votes were given and we have the pleasure to unveil the winners for the best product and the best concept live at MaterialDistrict Utrecht.
Moderated by Nils Bader and Prof. Stan Skolnik.


13:35 – 14:05
Janneke Leenaars, Interface, & Linda Vosjan, Climate Cleanup
Climate Positive innovations
Janneke Leenaars is Sustainability Manager Northern Europe at Interface. Following a former career as consultant, coach and CSR manager, Janneke joined Interface in January 2020 to apply her skills to accelerate positive developments on C02-reduction, restoring and protecting natural ecosystems and creating carbon sinks to reverse global warming.
Climate Cleanup Foundation is an independent entrepreneurial non-profit funded by members.
Together they pioneer systemic interventions to enable carbon returning on land, in oceans,
rocks and constructions.
The future of textiles part 2
We continue to explore the latest developments and trends in the textile industry, and how they are shaping the future of fashion and interior design.
Moderator: Samira Boon
Waste as a resource part 2
Join the speakers how waste materials can be repurposed and reused to create new products and reduce the environmental impact of our waste in part 2 of this programme.
Moderator: Leonne Cuppen

14:00 – 14:30
Stijntje Jaspers, Fibershed Nederland
Use what we have and what we grow!
Stijntje Jaspers is passionate about textiles. After studying fashion design, she worked for more than 25 years in creative management positions for various internationally operating textile and fashion brands. She decided to leave end 2016, realizing that this sector plays a major role in climate change. In 2021, she founded the Fibershed Netherlands foundation together with Martine Nieuwenhuis. As programme director, she initiates pre-competitive collaborations in the transition to a local, social, and nature-positive textile system.

14:15 – 14:45
Vera Nooijen, Studio Vera Nooijen
Project Re-value
Vera Nooijen (1998) is a designer who’s always exploring (new) materials and techniques. You can describe her work as experimental, minimalistic and simple but effective. During her graduation project named ‘Re-value’ she focused on the waste material from the marble industry. She experimented with the waste material and came up with three functional products; Table Layers, Table Mountain and the Wall Shelves. With her Re-value project she graduated from Willem de Kooning Academy in 2022. She works form her Design Studio based in Evertsoord (NL), founded in 2022.

14:35 – 15:05
Iris Veentjer, RietGoed
Gebruik wat we hebben en wat er groeit! (NL)
Fibershed participant Iris Veentjer is the owner of Studio i Focus. A design studio for including innovative material research and experimental, conceptual design. Iris graduated as an interior architect from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. She is engaged in freelance projects for various companies and institutions and works to self-initiated design projects such as Bakkie Trots and RietGoed. By innovative creating alternatives, Iris hopes to change perspectives and systems. Bakkie Trots and RietGoed offers not only a beautiful product, but above all a contribution to the social discussion about sustainability, climate change, social awareness and regenerative work.

14:50 – 15:20
Yuval Harel
Terra alchemy. An ongoing material research into combining ceramics & metal
Yuval Harel is a recent graduate from Design academy Eindhoven. Material and human behaviour are the main focus of her design practice. She’s 40% poetic concepts that give reasoning and tell a story, and 60% experimental processes which embrace the unexpected. Her design work is based on questioning and celebrating the values in ‘flaws’, giving materials and spaces new context, and the importance of craft and developing new methods of work while focusing on the process and potential and not just the final product.

15:25 – 15:55
Vivian Erdtsieck, Studio VivÈrdie
Vifour, a circular textile system. Creating a circular textile in a non-circular economy
Vivian Erdtsieck is a textile developer with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion design and a master in material chemistry and physics. With a combined history in science and Design, she and her company Studio VivÈrdie try to connect the two industries to work towards a more sustainable future. Currently, studio VivÈrdie is working on a new material called Vifour which is made from non-recyclable textile scraps.

15:45 – 16:15
Macarena Torres Puga & Francisco Munoz, A Waste Epiphany
From demolition waste to design
Macarena Torres Puga is a designer from Chile, who has been working with waste and sustainable projects throughout the past years, with the aim to transform discarded material into attractive design products for interiors. Listed as 8 top emerging design talents of Chile and German sustainability award winner, Macerena moved on to co-found Waste Epiphany.
Francisco Munoz is an architectural engineer from TU Delft, having participated in many innovative projects around the transition towards cleaner energy and circularity. In the last years he formed part of Delft Hyperloop, interned at Kengo Kuma and co-founded both MOR Studio and Waste Epiphany.

16:00 – 16:30
Irene Petrillo, Studio Samira Boon
Textile architecture, a promising future
With a background in Industrial Design Engineering, Irene Petrillo graduated with a strong focus on future materials.
While further developing the bacteria grown textile ‘Kombutex’, she joined Studio Samira Boon in 2021.
Studio Samira Boon was founded in Japan and combines the adaptive and sensory qualities of textiles with computerized production techniques.
Recent works in the Netherlands include the 3D woven Archi Folds and the parametrically designed BioFold – acoustic panels made using textile waste.
Both are innovative series of textile based, architectural elements, which bring together technique, science and art.
DON’T MISS OUT AND GET YOUR TICKET NOW
We look forward to seeing you there! Can’t make it? You can also buy a livecast ticket to view the lectures live from the comfort of home.
Ticket prices excluding VAT