Melbourne’s Other Matter Cooks Signage Film Offcuts Into Algae-Based Leather

Australian research studio Other Matter has released Other Matter Leather, a reimagined circular product created from used bioplastics

3 Days of Design in Copenhagen has become a significant force in the global design calendar, with the recent edition featuring more than 400 participants presenting both existing collections and new products. This year’s theme was ‘make this moment matter’, or recalibrate from ‘more’ to ‘meaningful’. Rather than fixate on the future, CEO and managing director Signe Byrdal Terenziani beckoned everyone to look at what’s happening in the present, as that’s ‘where we can truly have an impact’.

One notable work that captures such urgency is Other Matter Leather, a new leather-like material invented by Australian research studio Other Matter. The material is made entirely from offcuts and end-of-life OM Signage Film, an algae-based bioplastic created by Other Matter that serves as an alternative to PVC and other synthetic films in places such as retail shop decals and exhibition graphics.

Unbeknown to many, these films contain harmful phthalate plasticisers. ‘Phthalates are classified in the EU as a substance of very high concern,’ says Other Matter founder Jessie French. ‘Their impacts on human health are well supported by science.’

The starting point occurred a few years ago, when French presented work envisaging a post-petrochemical world yet every word was printed in toxic plastic. ‘I didn’t feel comfortable with this material describing my artwork. It was a complete contradiction,’ she says.

French’s quest to find a non-plastic alternative led to the creation of OM Signage Film, which cuts, prints and installs in the exact same workflow as conventional signage vinyl. But Other Matter Leather takes it one step further: it creates a closed loop for the film and transforms the material into a premium product. The offcuts are soaked in water, says French, then cooked with charcoal to give it a uniform deep, dark hue. When the mixture is poured out, small air bubbles form, giving it a slightly pebbled texture that reminds her of ostrich skin.

Presented within a group showcase of Australian designers curated by Claire Delmar during 3 Days of Design, Other Matter Leather was used as upholstery for new editions of Australian-based studio Made by Morgen’s Crafted dining chair, bar stool and stool. 

Beyond the supple feel of the material, Other Matter Leather’s biggest breakthrough lies in how recycled materials have been refashioned into a higher-value application. ‘Most recycling doesn’t fail on chemistry. It fails on economics,’ says French. ‘Other Matter Leather works because we’re upcycling the offcuts into an upholstery-grade leather that we can sell for a price point that justifies the cost of doing it.’

Scaling this commercialisation is the next big step. French is currently working with the CSIRO, Australia’s federal science agency, to prototype on an industrial scale. The ultimate goal, she says, is to scale both the signage film and the leather, with the former replacing our current signage film altogether. If that process is successful, Other Matter will have created products that presciently address both the present of Terenziani’s concern and the future. 

Text by Joseph Koh
Images by Daniel Grima and Phillip Huynh