Meet the Makers: Textiles Made From Milk
In this Meet the Makers blog series, we will feature an artist that, quite simply, makes something. Drawing inspiration from custom works handcrafted in various media, we travel beyond the pieces by diving into the minds of the creative makers themselves.
Today, we feature our interview with Anke Domaske, the creative designer of Qmilk – textile fibers made from milk. Domaske uses renewable resources and a special recipe to set a new standard for fiber production. Driven by the desire to find chemically untreated clothing, Anke experimented in her kitchen in Germany to derive an entirely new genre of fabric that is antibacterial and biodegradable.
GPI Design: What (3) words best describe your work?
Anke Domaske: Reliable – Founder – Optimism
GPI: What compels you to create with this particular medium?
Domaske: We are creating a textile fiber made from milk. I was originally searching for chemically untreated clothing for my stepfather with cancer. Eventually milk proteins came to my interest. Milk fibers had already been processed to textiles in the 1930s, but the fibers were treated with various chemicals and produced in a complex process. I wanted to revise that process to develop a fiber that is chemically untreated.
GPI: What is your biggest constraint in the creative process?
Domaske: Budget, time and focus. If you have many potentials then you need to focus on some applications, which isn’t as easy, because doing R&D is so much fun.
GPI: What would your 5 year old former self say about your work now? And what do you hope your future 90 year old self will say about your current work?
Domaske: I earned my first money at the age of 5 by selling cherry blossoms. So I guess I would say, finally you found a non seasonable business! My 90 year old self would say, you made the right choices, no regrets.
GPI: What other maker would you most like to collaborate with?
Domaske: Richard Brenson. He is an alrounder and want to change the world as we do, taking up challenges.
GPI: What do you think the future of creation/creativity holds (for you, and the artistic world as a whole)?
Domaske: I hope in my future I could create a house completely made of the QMILK material. It’s possible! And one of my goals.
GPI: What does your work space look like right now? Send us a selfie of you in your creative arena!
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Many thanks to Anke Domaske for the insight into her craft. Stay tuned to our next Meet the Makers interview coming up in two weeks! The interviews will publish every other Tuesday throughout the remainder of the year, focusing on a wide variety of makers, which has us truly redefining what it means to create.
View this maker’s work: http://de.qmilk.eu/presite/index_en.html