Mexican Studio Turns Waste Wool Into a Paper-Like Material for Interiors

Mexican design studio Arudeko has developed a paper-like material made mostly from coloured wool that would otherwise be thrown away. The material, called Bianni, is a translucent and flexible textile, Dezeen reported on 14 November.

The wool comes from off-cuts, the leftover scraps left after handmade carpets and cushions are finished. Weaving communities in Teotitlán del Valle, a town in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, make those carpets and cushions.

Making Bianni is a two-step job. Workers weave discarded dyed wool on a pedal loom, a frame loom worked with the feet. Strips of recycled paper, made by local papermakers, are then woven in using cotton threads.

Dezeen reports that the material is made purely from natural materials, with no additives. The wool also gives the paper fire resistance. Production was kept local to cut down on transport and to support the community, the outlet said.

Bianni can be shaped into lampshades, decorative headboard panels, room dividers and wall art. Denisse Arnaiz is the co-founder and chief executive of Arudeko, the studio behind it.

Arudeko says on its website that it works with interior designers, architects, developers and hospitality project managers to bring handmade textiles into their projects. It also works with Oaxacan artisans to keep alive the pedal-loom weaving tradition and the use of natural dyes. The studio says this gives artisans steady, well-paid work.

The studio also offers advice on choosing designs, materials and finishes, can customise collections, and sells what it describes as high-quality artisanal pieces. Its Ritmo O I-19 collection includes rugs and cushions.

For anyone who has ever wondered what happens to leftover yarn, the answer here is a lampshade, a wall hanging or a room divider. The wool that once ended up as scrap now sits in a new piece, woven by hands in the same region that spun it.