In sustainable systems I learned to produce biomaterials such as kombucha leather and a hard material out wood-eating mycelium.
here’s the process:
I wanted to make sandals for my final project. in the beginning the soles were going to be made out of the mycelium material and the straps out of kombucha leather.
this are process pictures of the mycelium.
I made the sole molds by vacuum forming an already existing shoe then put the materials inside.
the mycelium started growing slowly and I decided to feed them flour and the white matter started to increase and took over the wood shavings.
a week after my molds started
growing different kinds of mold so I decided to make the soles out of a repurposed piece of wood.
the process of the kombucha leather went more smoothly and I managed grow 4 pieces of different thickness and the variation between brown and white sugar. my first piece grew a tiny piece of mold and got rid of it by adding more vinegar to the recipe. I ended up dyeing the material with beets.
process pictures of the kombucha leather.
final product