Reyfið : unused and precious materials: Icelandic wool

• Main Author: Þorbjörg Valdimarsdóttir 1954-
• Other Authors: Listaháskóli Íslands
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: MA hönnun; Ull; Wool; Vistvæn hönnun; Sjálfbærni; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/28139

The goal in this research was to find pure material from the local environment and find out whether it would be possible to work on production in the aftermath. The material I decided to work with, the Icelandic wool, I found can have a positive economic impact on the society, does not leave an ecological footprint in nature because of the purity of the processing process and also has a good impact on the people who have it in their environment. The story of the Icelandic sheep has always captivated me, a history of sheep that have undergone no changes since the settlement of Iceland and have kept all the unique qualities in the wool specific to the Icelandic sheep. Unchangeable, yet adaptable, based on genetic characteristics, to where in the country the sheep has been reared. In mountainous areas, by rivers or down by the sea, the dietary range in the environment can also affect the qualities of wool. My goal is to work with the wild and natural element of the Icelandic wool, which is mirrored in nature, and allow it to show its amazing qualities and to give it all the dignity it deserves in its diversity, but has been taken away from it by reducing its worth. Since Icelandic wool began to be processed in machines, an effort has been made to adapt the wool to the machines, but they are designed and produced abroad for other kinds of wool. This, along with the inadequacy of design and usage of wool in Iceland has caused the unique qualities of Icelandic wool, the fibre quality and the colours, to become almost worthless. My aim is to draw attention to the value of the wool, its economical value and the lack of innovation in the Icelandic wool world, and to create the conversation. I think is needed between the public, innovation people and the groups within the woolen world. Such a conversation I believe can lead to action in the present and in the future.