Colored Tyvek, Coloring Tyvek with Acrylic Ink

A recent post on the Chewing with the Paper Chipmunk blog described coloring some Tyvek to make some miniature books. Paper Chipmunk says:


"My favorite way of decorating Tyvek is to use a foam cosmetic sponge dipped in acrylic ink. I then evenly smooth the color over the Tyvek, rubbing it in with the foam sponge. ...

Rubbing an even layer of the ink into the Tyvek brings out the patterns of its non-woven fibers. And one of the nicest things about acrylic ink is that it doesn't leave any discernible texture or tackiness--perfect for book pages. It just soaks into the Tyvek."

Check out the photos of the colored Tyvek and the miniature book made with the blue colored Tyvek. (Click photos to enlarge for detail.) Nice work Paper Chipmunk!

Many thanks to the Paper Chipmunk, info and photos used with permission.

Tyvek Ceiling - a User Sends a New Innovative Use for Tyvek

Zach Nagle from Czarnowski Display Service in Chicago emailed recently to describe a new innovative use for Tyvek - a Tyvek ceiling. In Zach’s words:

The problem: We have a dusty sample room, and wanted to add a new roof to repel dust, yet breathe air, and let more light in, and it had to be affordable, presentable and easy to install.

Solution: Make a ceiling out of wood frames and hard paper Tyvek!

The Tyvek looks great, and any imperfections in the tension/stretch are hidden by the fiber texture appearance of the material. It is lightweight and durable, and we think it looks great.

As seen in the photos, the translucent property of Tyvek allows light to come through, and the random swirl pattern of the nonwoven material adds to the attractiveness of the ceiling. And of course it does fit all the requirements stated here as Tyvek keeps out dust, is breathable, lets in light, is affordable, presentable and easy to install.

Thanks to Zach at Czarnowski Display Service for sending the photos and the Tyvek ceiling story.

If you would like to do something similar, Material Concepts would be happy to supply the Tyvek for your application. Click here for more information on hard Tyvek, also commonly called Tyvek paper. You can purchase Tyvek online or contact us for Tyvek product information or to place an order.

Tyvek ground sheets for camping and hiking

A recent discussion on an online Appalachian Trail Hiking forum talked about using Tyvek ground sheets as tent ground cloths. The first post said that they found their Tyvek ground cloth used under their tent was slippery. Some replies suggested washing the Tyvek ground sheet, and cautioned against drying it in a hot dryer - good advice! Others suggested tying the ground sheet to the tent poles, and one reply may have even been reading our website’s Tyvek Ground Sheet page, saying "they recommend bunching the corner and using a sheet bend to tie a line to it."

As described on our Tyvek Ground Cloth page, there are two types of 8’ x 10’ Tyvek ground sheets that Material Concepts offers - Hard and Soft. Ultralite OmnicovR® is the Material Concepts’ brand name for ground sheets. The Hard Tyvek Ultralite OmnicovR® is a little less expensive and people to run it through their washing machines to soften it. The Soft Tyvek Ultralite OmnicovR® is a little more expensive and is a little more compact, which can be a critical factor for backpackers.

Of course, Tyvek’s properties - water resistance, toughness, tear resistance and lightweight - make it a good choice for use as a ground cloth. This also makes it a good tarp or rain fly too. And it’s washable. Yes, Tyvek is slippery (especially when wet) and should not be walked on.

As far as tying Tyvek, we recommend:
When attaching a rope or cord to the corner of the Ultralite OmnicovR®, use a sheet-bend knot to achieve the strongest tie downs. Never use traditional grommets; instead, use fabric clips, spring clamps, or tarp and fabric fasteners.
See the illustration on how to do a sheet bend knot.

You can purchase the Hard or Soft Tyvek Ultralite OmnicovR® ground cloth from our online store.

Let us know by commenting below on how you are using Tyvek in your hiking and camping activities.

Fiber Artist - Another Tyvek Art Series

In the last post we featured fiber artist Paulette Lancaster and her Coral Series pieces made with Tyvek on her Art Dust blog. Paulette has done another series called the Bodice Ripper Series. She comments:

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As I placed different pieces together on my fabric it came to me that they looked liked a ripped corset. The project took off from there.

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Read more about this project on the Art Dust blog. Photos used here with permission.

Fiber Artist Working With Tyvek - Paulette Lancaster

Recently we found the Art Dust blog of fiber artist Paulette Lancaster when she posted about working with Tyvek. We asked Paulette to do a guest post about her Coral Series work and post images of some of her work. Here is what Paulette wrote about her work with Tyvek, with photos used with her permission:

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Being a fiber mixed media artist I am always on the alert for new materials to use in creating my art. Upon reading Chapter Two: Creating the Surfaces - Tyvek Film and Fabric in Gwen Hedley's book, Surfaces for Stitch Plastics, Films, and Fabric, I wanted to try incorporating Tyvek into my work. On my search for Tyvek , I discovered 10" x 13" Tyvek mailing envelopes at my local office supply store where I purchased a package.

To prepare the Tyvek, I used a pair of paper scissors and cut down one side and a cross the bottom of the envelope. Opened up it gives me a 20" x 13" piece of working fabric. I choose to use acrylic paints to color my Tyvek because of the quick drying factor. I tend to favour metallic acrylic paints because of their sheen and richness of color in my art work but my subject matter can also dictate my choices of paint color and their luminosity.

The inspiration piece in my Coral Reef Series was a hand dyed fabric that I used as the background in each art quilt. The play of colors on the fabric suggested sunlight shinning down into and through a body of water. A school of fish and a coral reef was all that was needed to complete the scene. I researched coral reefs to learn their shapes, structures and colors before I picked orange and peach colored acrylics for my coral colors. These I painted onto one side of the Tyvek and let it dry. I experimented to find the best coral shapes by cutting out pieces of the painted Tyvek and placing them between sheets of parchment paper which I pressed with a warm iron. When Tyvek becomes hot enough it changes shape rapidly. You must be vigil and check the progression of shrinkage often or you'll be left with nothing but vapour.

After arranging my selected pieces, I machine stitched them to my presewn quilt tops. Fish cut from a commercially printed fabric were wonder undered onto the quilt tops as well. Wonder Under is a fabric adhesive. Embroidery, beads and shells were used as embellishments. The quilts were finished with hand quilting and then bound.

I have exhibited my art quilts in several venues. My second art quilt in the Coral Reef Series was exhibited in the Indiana State Fair where it took a third place in the embellished art quilt catagory.

- R. Paulette Lancaster

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Many thanks to Paulette for sharing how she works with Tyvek. We'll feature more about her work in another post in the near future.

Of course, you don't have to cut up Tyvek envelopes for art work - You can always buy Tyvek online from Material Concepts in many styles.

Tyvek Design Photos from MIO

Recently this Tyvek Innovative Uses blog feature the work of Philadelphia design firm MIO. Thanks to the folks at MIO for allowing us to use photos of their products made with Tyvek on our blog.

The first photo is MIO's Loop By the Yard MoireDot Pattern. Loop By the Yard is Tyvek that can be used for many projects and is available in the 3 colors/patterns shown in this photo: orange-red, green-grey, and pink-purple.


The second photo illustrates one of the MIO products made with the Loop By the Yard Tyvek material. This is just one of many and varied innovative uses for this Tyvek material.



The third photo illustrates the MIO product called the In + Out Bag. This bag is also made with Tyvek and is available in two sizes and the 3 color combinations.

All photos provided by MIO and used with permission.

Fashionable Tyvek material for DIY projects from MIO

MIO is a Philadelphia design firm specializing in green design for products like wallpaper, lighting, seating, tables, shelving and accessories. Among the accessories is a line of printed Tyvek® material called Loop by the Yard for use in decorating, covering, or making anything that would be nicely done with a printed material with the qualities that Tyvek® brings - strong, lightweight, breathable and water resistant. Also available is a line of bags called In + Out Bags in the same print patterns as the Loop by the Yard Tyvek® material.

The green element is that MIO offers a postage pre-paid envelope to recycle the Tyvek® material when the purchaser is done with it, or scraps from the project work.

MIO offers downloadable instructions on various do-it-yourself (DIY) projects that can be done with Tyvek®, including:

• Table coverings
• Book covers
• Pillows
• Pouches
• Curtains
• Ponchos
• Kites
• Tents
• And an Ideas sheet with more suggestions

The material is offered in 3 patterned colors: green-grey, orange-red, and pink-purple.

Here is an interesting article about MIO and their products.

Upcyling Tyvek into Tyvek Totes

Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, NY‎ is having Craft Night with Betz White on Upcyling Tyvek into Tyvek Totes on Monday April 20, 2009. If you can't be in Brooklyn, join in via their Virtual Labs.

Betz White, author of the book Sewing Green, will be leading the activities to create totes from used Tyvek mailing envelopes.

Of course, it's good to recycle, but if you want new and unprinted Tyvek or the very cool new Black Tyvek, you could always order Tyvek directly from Material Concepts.

Tyvek Fashion: Tyvek Bags, or are they Tyvek Handbags?

Tyvek® is now being used in high fashion. A new collection of bags called Papier, which is French for paper, designed by Stefan Diez for his wife Saskia Diez, a jewelery designer. The are made from Tyvek® material, most likely what we call hard structure Tyvek®, which many call Tyvek® paper.

We contacted the designer Stefan Diez. He provided permission to use the photos and provided this description of the Tyvek® Papier bags:

PAPIER
In her designs Saskia Diez always takes up the familiar, gives it further thought and adds something new. In the design process these shifts of context interest her above and beyond the jewelry. As such “Papier”, the new collection of cases, is a typical product of the Munich-based label. They were designed by Stefan Diez for Saskia Diez. The different-size traveling bags are made of Tyvek, a synthetic paper that is extremely light but at the same time extremely robust. The project is noteworthy in many respects, not only on account of the material’s enormous durability, but also because of the high-end finish given to what is actually a banal material. A silk-screen printing technique gives the material a particularly attractive look. A totally different aspect of the series is also remarkable: Classic traveling bags are for the most part made of leather; the use of paper here represents a shift in typology, which reflects a new definition of the traditional idea of luxury. Like all designs by Saskia Diez the “Papier” bag collection has a striking label: A sterling silver flake with an engraved diamond.

These Tyvek "Papier" bags will be available for sale shortly from the Stefan Diez online store.

Also of interest are the black and yellow Tyvek Papier bags:













Here are some photos of the preparation and assembly process:



























Papier bags were very hot in the blogosphere, discussed on these blogs that we found:
Style Salvage, Wired Gadget Lab, Today and Tomorrow, Design Boom, SteezToday, and Hypebeast.

Tyvek Fashion - Tyvek Wedding Dress!

A couple of news stories from the UK describe fashion designer Christina McIntosh using Tyvek® to create a wedding dress.

You can view a video of the design, creation and modeling of the Tyvek® dress. STV.tv says:

A paper wedding dress designed by a student at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen is to dawn the catwalk at a prestigious bridal awards ceremony.

Christina McIntosh's eco-friendly design has been shortlisted in the 2009 Bridal Buyer Awards.

The event is regarded as Europe's top bridal awards ceremony.

According to the March 3, 2009 story in The Press and Journal (Aberdeen, Scotland, UK) titled "Eye-catching wedding dresses make the cut":

Students at an Aberdeen art school have reached the final of a top bridal fashion award.

Christina McIntosh and Magdalena Zareba, both fashion students at Gray’s School of Art, have been shortlisted for this year’s Bridal Buyer awards for their wedding dress designs, including one which looks like it has been made from paper.

Miss McIntosh, 20, from Aberdeen, designed her paper-style dress to promote eco-friendly fashion. She used a material, Tyvek, which is more durable but just as recyclable as paper. She said: “I am thrilled to have been shortlisted and to have such a high-profile platform on which to promote eco-friendly fashion.”

The stories refer to Tyvek® as paper.  Of course, Tyvek® is not exactly paper, though we often hear it referred to as Tyvek® paper, particularly hard Tyvek® styles.  Tyvek® does have a paper-like texture.  But it certainly would make a more durable wedding dress than paper, and would be much easier to sew. In addition to paper-like Tyvek, there are also several fabric-like Tyvek styles available. These have a softer hand, excellent drapeability, and soften like leather over time. Fabric-like styles of Tyvek are also very easy to dye using RIT dye. The more paper-like styles take acrylic paint with ease, and acrylic paint seems to accentuate the interesting patterns of the Tyvek fibers.

So if you are a designer looking for innovative materials, or you are getting married and want to make your own Tyvek® wedding dress, give us a call to request a Tyvek sample packet so you can see and feel all the differnt Tyvek styles available from Material Concepts. Material Concepts would be happy to be your Tyvek® supplier!

Tvyek Used for Furniture Conservation in Tiffany Exhibit at Shelburne Museum

Shelburne Museum in Shelburne Vermont will be having an exhibit “Louis Comfort Tiffany: Nature By Design” from June 20 – October 25, 2009. In our previous blog post about Protecting Outdoor Sculptures with Tyvek® Covers, Nancie Ravenel, Objects Conservator from Shelburne Museum commented:

Nice to see art conservation highlighted! I'm using Tyvek Soft Structure Type 14, purchased from Materials Concepts, as part of my treatment of the upholstery on suite of chairs designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. You guys sent me a fantastic sample pack when I was choosing what material to use.

Nancie also posted a link to some photos of the pieces she is working on for this Tiffany exhibit. The photos include a chair that is being restored using Tyvek, used by permission.
This is the chair near the beginning of the conservation work on the seat. Nancie describes the process: “To recreate the original profile, layers of polyester batting were laid on top of the layers of curled horsehair and burlap on the chair.”

This is the chair near the beginning of the conservation work on the seat. Nancie describes the process: “To recreate the original profile, layers of polyester batting were laid on top of the layers of curled horsehair and burlap on the chair.”



Nancie describes this photo below: “On the chair on the left, a cover made of Tyvek® Soft Structure Type 14 was sewn to the strips to cover the polyester batting.”


Here is the completed chair with yellow silk velvet seat covering.

The use of Tyvek® here is well suited to the application. The Tyvek® will protect the exterior covering from the interior materials with a strong, flexible, breathable separator. Its strength allows it to be fastened and sewn. And the soft structure Tyvek® 14 is fabric-like so it will function well, thought we don’t suspect that chair will be tested by visitors to the Tiffany Exhibit at Shelburne Museum!

Tyvek® has many using in art conservation and for archiving and storing art objects. Archival Quality Tyvek® is used to protect paintings, sculptures, sketches, documents, and as we see here, furniture, during shipping, storage and display. Black Tyvek® is a relatively new product that is used as a durable picture frame backing paper. Material Concepts sells and distributes Tyvek® archival art supplies to art dealers, museums, and conservators worldwide.
The “Louis Comfort Tiffany: Nature By Design” exhibit runs from June 20 to October 25, 2009. Here is part of the exhibit description from Shelburne Museum’s website:

Louis Comfort Tiffany: Nature by Design will explore the oeuvres of Louis Comfort Tiffany within the context of Art Nouveau style and the Aesthetic Movement focusing on nature in his designs. Tiffany was the foremost proponent of the use of natural motifs in furniture, ceramics, metalwork and jewelry in America.

“Many of the works included in this exhibit have never before been on public display, including a furniture suite from Shelburne Museum’s permanent collection that has recently been restored and will be exhibited together for the first time,” said Senior Curator Jean Burks, who is organizing the exhibit.

The exhibition will feature over 75 works on loan from museums and private collections including lamps, stained glass, jewelry, ceramics and glass vessels. A catalogue will accompany the exhibit.

Thanks to Nancie Ravenel and Shelburne Museum for allowing us to post about this project!

Tyvek Projector Screen / Tyvek Projection Screen

A recent post on the How-To / DIY (do it yourself) site Instructables described how to make projector screen out of Tyvek® along with "a PVC pipe, rope, and plumbing pipe."

They described using a piece of Tyvek® HomeWrap®, which has the printed logo on it. The use one pole on the top and one pole on the bottom and secure the Tyvek® to the poles. The instructions descibe that the logo might pose a problem for rear projection, but that it didn't affect front projection. One comment expressed concern that the logo might show through, but others said it did not with front projection.

Material Concepts has supplied Tyvek® to some customers who have made projection screens from Tyvek®. And it's a pretty good idea too, considering the low weight and high strength of Tyvek® along with its bright white appearance. Our 120" wide Tyvek® 1460 is commonly purchased for this use.

Although this product comes folded and boxed, the Tyvek® 1460 behaves more like nylon fabric, so you can stuff it in a sack or fold it for storage, making it more compact and versatile. No need to store the Tyvek® on a long pole or worry about wrinkling it like you would with Tyvek® HomeWrap®. When unfolding Tyvek® 1460 to use as a movie screen, simply open it up, pull it taut on all sides to diminish the wrinkles, and it's ready. Or if you use the Instructables method, with a pole on the bottom, the weight of the pole will help flatten it.

Of course, it you prefer no wrinkles at all, you can purchase Tyvek® 1460 on the roll, or even a roll of the more paper-like hard Tyvek®. Of course, Tyvek® rolls from Material Concepts do not have the Dupont™ Tyvek® HomeWrap® printed logo, which is great for both front and rear projection.

Protecting Outdoor Sculptures with Tyvek® Covers

The American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works has a network blog for Emerging Conservation Professionals. This AIC blog started in May 2008 is "a forum for professionals entering the field of conservation."

Richard McCoy from the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) has a recent post about using Tyvek® covers to protect outdoor scuptures at the Oldfields-Lilly House & Gardens, a National Historic Landmark and 26-acre estate and historic house museum located at IMA. (Sources: IMA, Wikipedia).

Here are a couple sets of the before and after photos:

Photos courtesy of Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), taken by Richard McCoy. Click photos to enlarge. Additional photos, videos and slide show about protecting these sculptures available at: AIC: Emerging Conservation Professionals Network Blog

On these grouds there are a number of stone sculptures that are almost 100 years old. During the winter, the museum staff wants to protect the sculptures from the elements. McCoy describes:

Historically, sculptures like these would have been covered during the winter months. The reason? Freeze-thaw-action. [T]he problem is that moisture seeps into the interstices of the stone, stays there and then after the temperature drops the water becomes ice, expands and then the little (or sometimes big) pieces of the stone get pushed apart. In short it's not good for the sculptures and we try to reduce the chances of this happening.

Why use Tyvek® for covering the sculptures? McCoy says, "The thinking was if cars could be live all year long under Tyvek covers, then our sculptures could live a good winter life under them. Of course, Tyvek is clever in that it is water resistant, yet breathable, so moisture doesn't get trapped inside the covers."

The covers were custom made and sewn to cover 9 or 10 of these outdoor sculptures. If you are thinking about doing something like this, or sewing any Tyvek® material, please refer to our Tyvek® sewing instructions.

For more information about related uses of Tyvek®, visit the Tyvek® Archival Art page of our website.

For conservators or museum staff who want to use Tyvek®, you can buy archival quality Tyvek® style 14M rolls or other types of Tyvek® rolls or sheets online from Material Concepts, an authorized Tyvek® distributor, or you can call Material Concepts to place an order: 215-338-6515 or toll free in the US: 1-800-372-3366.

Tyvek Textile and Mixed Media Art

We continue to find many artists are using Tyvek® in their pieces, particularly fabric/textile artists and mixed media artists. Artists seem to like the many and varied ways that Tyvek® can be manipulated to accomplish the effect they are striving for in their work.

Carolyn Saxby is a textile / mixed media artist in St. Ives, Cornwall in the UK. She is using Tyvek® in her work and posted photos of her textile work on her blog: http://carolynsaxby.blogspot.com/. She was kind enough to allow us to post the photos of her art on our blog. She describes this materials in this piece: "I painted and manipulated some Tyvek, heated and distressed long strips of sheers/chiffons and cut fabrics."

Photos courtesy of Carolyn Saxby Mixed Media Textile Art. Click photos to enlarge. Additional photos available at: Carolyn Saxby Mixed Media Textile Art Blog

Carolyn comments: "I love to use Tyvek in my work. Such interesting textures and effects can be achieved by heating, manipulating and distressing this versatile product! It is one of my favourite techniques and to anyone who has never tried it before - give it a go. You will have such fun!"

For artists using Tyvek in their work, Material Concepts allows you to buy Tyvek rolls or sheets online, or you can call us to place an order: 215-338-6515 or toll free in the US: 1-800-372-3366.

Tyvek Artwork - Manipulating Tyvek with heat

WOW!

We came upon this amazing work of art on Kirsten Chursinoff's Flickr page.

Entitled, Anemone Tidepool I, Kirsten writes, "The sea anemone tentacles are made with threads sewn using water soluble material. Beads and French knots represent limpets and small rocks and shells. There are also pieces of melted Tyvek and melted synthetic felt. This is another impression of the green and purple anemones (aggregate anemones) scattered about the coast of BC, Canada. Marine life provides a huge wealth of inspiration for my textile art." (By the way, Kirsten has much more information on the above picture on her Flickr page specifically detailing the melted Tyvek)

We've seen a growing trend over a few years where Tyvek is being manipulated with the use of heat. Heating Tyvek is something we can not endorse for obvious safety reasons, however, it's clearly becoming a known practice among folks working with it artistically.

For example, on Joggles webpage on How to use Tyvek Tutorial, Joggles describes in great detail how to apply heat to Tyvek to create particular effects as seen on this example entitled "Tyvek Jester" by Barbara Strembicki.

At Material Concepts, we make every style of Tyvek available in small quantities and usually have end rolls and cut offs available at steep discounts. We are amazed by the incredible artistic talent displayed by Kirsten Chursinoff, and fascinated by the information provided by Barbara Strembicki of Joggles.com.

We have seen many others who incorporate melted Tyvek into their artwork. The results are unique and quite outstanding. I have to wonder who first discovered the effects of heating/distorting Tyvek....

C'est Magnifique!

Tyvek Wallets

I came across a website selling Tyvek wallets.

We purchased one of each style and they're extremely well done. There are about 12 designs and the wallets are not just attractive - they're quite functional. Check them out!

Called the Mighty Wallet, these are made of DuPont Tyvek and are an excellent example of the amazing graphics that can be achieved on Tyvek.

Innovative uses for Tyvek blog launched

This blog is all about different ways we see DuPont Tyvek being used in the marketplace.

From print media, printed envelopes, credit card sleeves, and signs and banners, to arts and crafts, and accessories like wallets and apparel, Tyvek seems to fit into a wide variety of applications.

At Material Concepts we speak to folks all over the USA and internationally about the wonders of Tyvek. This blog will feature innovative and creative uses we come across, companies we find that do amazing work with Tyvek, and will hopefully serve as a reference for folks who find Tyvek and its uses of interest.

This Tyvek coat was made by Marian Schoettle (MAU), and the Tyvek lamps were designed by Heath Nash. We purchased these from Unicahome.com.