PineSkins Coasters
A collaboration project with Studio Sarmite,
applying the natural material PineSkins on coasters
PineSkins is a versatile, leather-like material made of inner bark of pine trees, a by-product of the tree cutting industry. Ranging from earthy brown to pink and to deep terra cotta colors with a scent of wood, PineSkins carries a unique appearance that feels familiar yet unseen. In order to become flexible, the freshly harvested bark is treated with a bio-softening solution and enhanced with color pigments and natural wax.
On a broader level PineSkins looks at the resources of forests. It aims to create alternative production paradigms for the tree cutting industry with less emphasis on timber production. It does so by using small scale tree cutters as a network for bark access while they cut trees for their own business. It then creates a new craft that generates income for local people and appreciation for unassuming materials from the neighbor forest.
Sarmite Polakova a Latvian origin designer living and working between Amsterdam (NL) and Frankfurt (DE). In 2015 she graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven where she developed a special interest in raw materials and research. Her body of work focusses mostly around transforming unassuming, natural materials into a new purpose and series of design objects through extensive theoretical and practical research. The design objects become the main carriers of the narrative.
Caring advice:
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Any residue and dust can be cleaned off with a damp cloth.
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Occasionally or if the bark feels a little dry, it can be waxed with a neutral wax / shoe wax or coconut oil. How to wax: take a soft cotton fabric and rub it into wax. Apply evenly on bark. If the bark has become a little dry, apply generously and let it soak in for a couple of hours or overnight. Clean leftovers with clean cloth.
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If the bark becomes too moist, put it between sheets of paper / book for a couple of hours.
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PineSkins does not do well for prolonged periods in direct, hot sunlight or next to a hot object, such as a radiator.
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PineSkins will also not appreciate being left for long periods in a very humid room, soaked completely wet or left outside in rain or cold.
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Being a natural material, it is sensitive to extreme climate changes. PineSkins will thrive in a regular home ambience.