Mineralloop

Long description

Mineralloop is a project about fixing minerals with minerals. This new technique is based on a material research of “Neostone”, also known as geopolymer, and is developed to give broken or imperfect glassware and ceramic a new touch, similar to kintsugi.

Erco Lai collected unwanted glassware from second-hand stores in the Netherlands and covered them with “Neostone” that he developed using mineral-based industrial waste, like marble powder from stone factories, limestone powder from quarries, sand from construction sites, lime pellets from the water softening process and glass chips from urban mining. This material doesn’t require firing or adding cements inside, and adds a new layer and feeling to the object. 

Many products in second-hand shops aren’t sold and are then sent to the incinerator. The designer thus decided to give a new life to glass and ceramic’s products. For that, he developed this new craft to give them coatings made with waste minerals. Moreover, this will be a potential business model to run social enterprises. 

What to design for a world of plenty? Natural resources are getting exhausted. Erco Lai believes in alternative ways of designing, using what is already there. This results in a local and circular production.

Additional Images