March is on it’s way, and here, at the end of February, it feels like spring already. A nice break from the Dutch cold, but a scary glimpse into a changing climate 🌞 we are accepting this vitamin D boost, as a bitter-sweet reminder to get on with this pollution problem.

February saw us developing our washing system, focussing on machine builds and fixing laptops (damn technology). There were also a few trips out from the team, like Kat raising plastic pollution awareness in beautiful Kenya 🇰🇪 with The Flipflopi, and Thomas in Panama 🇵🇦 with a new plate mould that we made here in the workspace. Check it all out below, in our Monthly News.

March is shaping up to be a busy month in Eindhoven. What a surprise 🙃

More machine engineering, more table building, and a handful of newcomers to the V4 Army!

Some of our current team will also travel around proudly representing Precious Plastic on the job. Super nice, as we usually have to say no to presentations and workshops. V4 has provided a gateway of opportunity, with our extended workforce, and the luxury of some extra money coming in to support our team in the Netherlands.

@pauldufour and @cymek will be heading over to the Maldives 🇲🇻 until May, continuing on a collaboration with Parley, while @timslab will be on his way to Austin 🇱🇷 for SXSW to run a workshop with Precious Plastic Texas. Our new power-duo @sera-p-thomsen and @nparies are working on a project with Captn Crop 🇩🇪 to make a limited collection of caps from fused sheets, and @jaklatt (our business guy) will be taking on a presentation or two outside of the workspace.

March in the workspace:

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@brunowindt (on washing) will be finishing up work on the logistics of the cleaning system, then handing over to @acoira who will continue with more focus on sorting.

@timslab (extruder product design) Will be looking into nozzle shapes and modifications, and testing the limits of our extruder developments! Our new product designer, Adam will be joining him for the next weeks.

@tafnstuff is still extruding PS around the clock, using handcraft methods in an exciting table project that we’re working on. This is all being recorded by our camera girl @sera-p-thomsen 📸

@friedrich (shredder developments) will be joined by @ropmain and @lagrenouille testing and solving issues with our new shredder prototype.
@caroespinozaj (styrofoam guru) will build a second prototype for her styrofoam shredder.
@markbertbach and @jasonknight (Sheet press) are in the process of building a new machine, and a brand new oven, which will then inform a project in Morocco later in May.
@v-varella (sheet designer) will spend the month formatting the How-to documentation for his research on sheets up until now, and start preparing for the next period of product design!

@dasjannis (bioplastic research) continues his work on potato peels and wheat bran, now testing coffee and other food waste streams. He hopes to test the biodegradable properties of his work, in comparison to industry alternatives.

@aliciaminnaard is moving further with our fashion project, by testing the recycling of synthetics with @juul and Nadja, and natural dye alternatives with @jessicawoodrow.

Month in the studio:

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@saskiaathlene will finalise a few mockups for our new platform as well as looking into ways to upgrade our Bazar from a UX point of view.
@nparies is focusing on the branding of our new platform and how it will play with the other projects.
@be3nj will continue an amazing job in managing our remote developers, and coding here and there when he has some time left.

@chris-m-clarke will primarily be on-the-road over March but will be able to offer some precious consultancy on major issues and directions.
@mariska is working on a new design system for the use of illustrations within our new platform

@jaklatt will get to applying his theoretical work up until now, on business models for our Precious Plastic starter kits, with a hand from @siemenb
@s-zandbergen is fresh to our collection system work, with @plasticprincess. He will focus on developing a consistent stream of material income for our workspace, and to inform the wider community on how we do it.

Month for the rest of us:

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@plasticprincess has been carrying out some really useful research for the team, that looks at the impacts of our food purchases, considering water consumptions and distance travelled. She will continue this work to inform kitchen purchases and sustainability 🍎 @breezy & Catie are still rocking our tastebuds, making delicious food to keep the team going through the weeks.

@mattia-io and @davehakkens will be holding the fort, as per usual!

Thats all from us for now, and enough to get on with for the next few weeks! If you’re into finances 💸 drop us a line! We have space for a brain on money in our workspace. We’re also on the lookout for web developers to help turn our shiny new platform dreams into reality.

Come and be the change at https://next.preciousplastic.com 👊