Kombucha Textile: Past, Present, and Future - Portland Textile Month Event

Held in Room/Studio 256: One's Name is One's Legacy, and Kombucha biocellulose, while currently going by a few names has controversy surrounding what to call it. SuSeLi is suggesting that Portland has a unique position to use it's brewery waste from the thriving delicious probiotic trend to make textiles.Since there is potential for the textile, we can work with it as artists, makers and innovators here in Portland more easily than other places.This textile is the legacy of many disciplines at once - it is as much a product of traditional fermentation, contemporary agriculture, modern health-food culture, and brewing science, as it is a product of textile research.The curing methods used in our own work are arguably all kitchen or food preservation techniques, but at the same time, the process can be likened chemically to leather tanning, and the product certainly can look like treated animal hide as much as it can parchment paper with different techniques.Currently, online and globally, many call it "Kombucha Leather" because of it's ability to resemble animal hide when treated with oils and tannins, but many traditional leatherworkers and experts we have encountered feel uncomfortable with the term, because the substance is not derived from animal hide.Without being etymologists, we think there is a decent etymological case for it to be called "Kombucha Leather" which we will present at the workshop, but also, what if Portland was able to come up with another name that worked just as well? Come be part of the discussion as we continue the long global legacy of Kombucha, this time here in North America, as a Pellicle Textile,The Origins of Kombucha are in East Asia alongside the origins of tea, but has become a popular traditional beverage across Eurasia, Russia, and the Balkans. Other delicious acetobacter processed foods are also found globally and are also ancient, since fermentation is a natural process and acetobacter is globally ubiquitous.

Info: We will start by finding a seat/station either at a table if you have paid to work with the pellicle, or in another chair or spot if you are coming to audit. Next we will introduce ourselves and go over the etymology board, which is by no means complete, but a point to start discussion. Thirdly, we will do our simple draping exercises, mill about and chat, leave the draped items in the room to dry for later pickup, or else individuals can take their wet items with them if they choose.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Fariborz Maseeh Hall, 1855 Southwest Broadway, Portland, United States