Charlotte Werth
Charlotte is a material designer based in the United Kingdom, pushing the boundaries of textile innovation through bio-design. She is at the forefront of bacteria dye research, pioneering techniques to grow pigment-producing bacteria directly on textiles. Her work is supported by a microbiology lab she built herself, complete with custom-designed equipment and machines tailored to her unique process. A graduate of the Köln International School of Design, Charlotte continues to explore ways to scale her practice, bringing sustainable and biologically driven design solutions to the textile industry.
Charlotte's research focuses on bacteria dye, exploring how pigment-producing bacteria can be grown directly on textiles to create intricate, natural patterns. By guiding these living organisms to co-create intricate patterns using these pigment-producing bacteria, Charlotte combines science and design to reimagine traditional textile processes.
Her latest innovation, Bacteria Dye Machine 02, is a working prototype that automates and scales the creation of repetitive textile patterns using these pigment-producing bacteria. This cutting-edge technology opens up new possibilities for sustainable textile production, blending artistry with biology to push the boundaries of material design.
From the Creatives For Our Future programme, I learned how to communicate professionally with collaborators. I learned how important it is to have the right people work with me, and I found a few who I will continue working with and a few who made my work more difficult. Looking into scaling up in the future was my most valuable learning, and I felt like I could make mistakes because the frame allowed that.
Charlotte Werth
