The Michelin-starred Danish restaurant, Noma, has teamed up with Natural Material Studio to create the Shellware tableware collection, made from the restaurant’s leftover shells. During her research, Bonnie Hvillum, head of the studio, discovered that she could obtain calcium oxide, one of the main components of Bone China, a bone ash porcelain, from this raw material. Associated with the Danish ceramist Esben Kaldahl, she created several kinds of clays and glazes, some of which evoke coral. She has also developed a biodegradable textile made from seaweed that can be used to make placemats and other objects. “The essence of my research work lies in my desire to question our perception of what materials are and can be. Eating shells from a plate made of shells can help to highlight the importance of incorporating a reflection on sustainable development, even in an act as simple as eating a meal.”
