Innovation Fellowship in Materials
Textile designer Yemi Awosile is the RCA's first-ever Innovation Fellow in Material, supported by the London Design Festival.

Yemi Awosile's interest in cork goes back to her first year studying MA Textiles at the RCA in 2007. It was while working on a project that challenged textile students to research current world issues concerning material sourcing and production that Yemi discovered that cork not only appealed to her from an aesthetic point of view but also because it has natural beneficial properties and a sustainable farming process.

It was the successful presentation of this project to the Marianne Straub Travel Scholarship panel that set Yemi on her journey tracing the origins and production of cork. Her proposal to spend four weeks researching in Alentejo in Southern Portugal (the heartland of cork production) was accepted and she was able to visit factories and forests with the assistance of the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR), the Forest Stewardship Council (FCS) and Amorim, the largest cork supplier in the world.

She discovered that the material starts as a vegetable tissue harvested from the cork oak tree in the forests of Alentejo, and is then processed in factories near Porto. Traditionally, the cork is then crafted locally by rural communities into hand-made products, but there is also now considerable scientific interest in the potential use of cork for its insulating properties in aerospace and engineering.

During this visit Yemi was introduced to Ana Mestre, a local industrial designer promoting 'Dutch Design with Cork' through her PhD studies at Delft University in Holland. This encounter led to Yemi taking part in a collaboration in Delft in September 2007 between designers and engineers exploring ideas and concepts around cork. This was followed by an exhibition in Lisbon in May 2008.

During the second year of her Mixed Media Textiles course at the RCA, Yemi was determined to continue her pursuit of cork innovation with textiles techniques. Having established a strong relationship with the Portuguese cork producers who were willing to provide plenty of raw materials, Yemi was able to knit, print, and manipulate cork in surprising and inventive ways.

In her final show in June last year, Yemi exhibited the outcome of this study to the delight and amazement of all who visited. The presentation of interior products included chairs, wall coverings and a wealth of experimental pieces in cork. This show attracted excellent press and Yemi won a Valpak Sustainability award.

Following her success at the show, Yemi was selected to be the first Innovation Fellow in Materials at the RCA, sponsored by the London Design Festival (LDF). The Fellowship was set up by LDF Director Ben Evans with the proceeds of a Festival project called Size & Matter, which teamed leading architects with specific materials. A sale at auction of two sculptures by architects Zaha Hadid and Amanda Levete generated the funds to support Yemi to spend an extra year part-time at the College researching and developing her ideas.

Judges Ben Evans, Marie O'Mahoney, Geoff Hollington, Nadia Danhash and myself looked at a range of material innovations by College graduates before choosing Yemi's work. In the nine months since winning the Fellowship, she has repaid our faith by taking the project to impressive new heights.

She has not only continued to create audacious and elegant ideas with cork, but has also forged a collaboration with Nanoforce, the materials laboratory at Queen Mary's University, and successfully applied for a Design Spark award from the Materials and Design Exchange to invent a revolutionary technique using cork.

Keeping her feet on the ground, Yemi enrolled on the Design London MBA programme at Imperial College Business School, which brings together enterprising design and business graduates to accelerate business opportunities.

The Fellowship will culminate with Yemi exhibiting her latest work in September 2009 at the RCA as part of the London Design Festival, within an exhibit called Exploring Innovation. Without a doubt, she has creatively explored the potential of cork - breathing new life and identity into this most traditional of materials in a way that is inspirational for those of us who believe that designers are uniquely equipped to innovate with materials.

Article by Clare Johnston, Head of Textiles at the RCA and InnovationRCA Business Fellow