We want to change the paper supply chain from forest to farm. At Fresh Press, we explore and enact the potential of regional sustainable agricultural fiber waste as paper and paper products. Watch our video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EYXIOGXHh8
Project
Fresh Press Paper
Sustainable Materials · Circular Economy · Public Engagement
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Design Problem
Change the paper supply chain from forest to farm. www.freshpress.studio.
Research Question
How can we create a more sustainable alternative to tree-fiber paper and pulp packaging?
Watch this video to learn more about Fresh Press
Research
Fresh Press is an interdisciplinary research and making lab at the University of Illinois that explores the potential of regional sustainable agricultural fiber waste as art, paper, and objects. We aim to develop entrepreneurial and artistic markets for paper products from locally produced sustainable agricultural fiber waste (corn stalks, rye, hemp, and prairie grasses).
View the Fresh Press Branding Guidebook
Public Engagement
Fresh Press seeks to educate through papermaking workshops, steward the land we use in our craft, and investigate indigenous plant and agricultural fibers for the arts to help solve global environmental and social issues. Workshops are three hours, range in cost from $20-80 per individual, and explore the use of basic Western papermaking and pulp painting.
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Research Outcomes
Fresh Press is the only research lab at a university in North America focused on the testing and creation of papers and building materials that are viable for commercial use from agricultural residue fiber sourced from an on-campus sustainable farm. The research and community engagement ecology of the lab is akin to an amoeba one that is active and changes with each new scholar or student who joins.
- Papermaking Community Workshops: Storytelling, Transformation, and Therapy, $ 8,000 (NEA)
- A Case for a New Case Paper: Co-engineering Library Conservation Materials from Locally Sourced Agricultural Waste, $18,673 (2019-2023)
- A Campus Circular Economy – From Farm to Table & Desk, $37,695 (2016)
- 3-D Pulp: Crop Residue At Small and Large Scales, $14,522 (2016)
- Farm and Fiber, $79,620 (2014)
- Off-Grid Sustainable Farm, $68,416 (2012)
- Agri-fiber Paper Lab, $42,130 (2011)
Credits
Co-Founders: Steve Kostell & Eric Benson
Studio Manager: E. Ainsley
Past Studio Managers: Megan Diddie, Sophia Pipathsouk, Veronica Pham
Exhibitions
Want to learn more? Get in touch.
