Craftwork led concept and spatial design, interactive design, and material curation for the Materials Collection, an interactive archive created in collaboration with Fun Stuff Design for the Center for Craft in Asheville, North Carolina, featuring over 100 tactile samples for public exploration and discovery.

The relationship between a maker and their materials is an important aspect of understanding craft. For some craftspeople, becoming familiar with a material is the pursuit of a lifetime. Learning how a material behaves—such as the time of year it grows, the way it moves, how fast it hardens, and how much tension it can hold—is a slow but rewarding process. Working closely with materials can also lead to innovation.

The Materials Collection is an interactive display featuring over 100 materials used in craft. Through touch and close observation, you can explore materials commonly associated with craft, including clay, wood, metal, fiber, and glass. Or, discover cutting-edge materials such as seaweed-based fibers, biodegradable foams, and algae-derived ink.

The samples on display are grouped into four categories: common, manufactured, meta, and novel sustainable. Open the drawers to explore the wide range of materials used by craft artists, designers, and researchers.