Material Matters with Grant Gibson

Can a $21 window help a nation survive a war? Harry Blakiston Houston, founder of Insulate Ukraine, joins Grant Gibson for this landmark 150th episode to discuss how a simple double-layer window — made from PET and manufactured entirely in Ukraine — is helping families stay warm, creating local employment, and offering a sense of normality in a country shattered by Russia's invasion. In this episode, we dive into what 'material intelligence' looks like when designing under the most extreme constraints.
We discuss:
Cardboard to PET: How early cardboard prototypes evolved into a $21, locally-manufactured double-layer window.
Trust, Innovation and Empathy: The values driving Insulate Ukraine's work, and why they matter in a crisis.
Ukraine's Civic Heroes: Celebrating the people keeping the country running.
An Unlikely Origin: How the death of the Queen helped lead to the founding of Insulate Ukraine.
Designing Under Fire: The particular difficulty of R&D in the humanitarian aid sector, and building an installation system from scratch.
Harry also reflects on day-to-day life in a war-torn country, working with whatever materials people had to hand, growing up in Northern Ireland, how Catholicism and boarding school shaped his thinking, and why he wants to rethink the development sector altogether.
Find out more and donate at insulate-ukraine.org.
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Can imperfection reshape modern industry? Hella Jongerius — one of the most influential designers of her generation, and one of the field's sharpest critical voices — joins Grant Gibson to discuss craft, colour, and her enduring fascination with the messy edges of mass production.
In this episode, we dive into the politics of materials and the discipline of long-term collaboration. We discuss:
From Droog to Vitra: Emerging in 1993 alongside Jurgen Bey and Marcel Wanders, and what those early years taught her.
Tough and Sweet: Developing her critical voice and taking aim at the design industry's obsession with newness and marketing.
Materials Are Political: Why every choice of clay, textile or yarn carries weight.
Avoiding the Path of Nostalgia: How to honour craft without retreating into it.
Changing Industry from Within: Three decades of collaboration with Vitra, KLM, IKEA, Camper and Maharam.
Colour as Communication: Why colour is a tool, not a decoration.
Hella also reflects on her major retrospective at the Vitra Design Museum, running studios across the Netherlands and Germany, her fascination with animals, and exploring her spiritual side.
Explore more: Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences.
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Can a needle and thread mend more than fabric? Ceramic artist Leah Jensen joins Grant Gibson to discuss the radical pivot in her practice after a brain cancer diagnosis — and how stitching became a daily act of survival, documentation and repair.
In this episode, we explore making as medicine and the quiet power of slow, analogue craft. We discuss:
Renaissance Patterns: The unexpected art-historical roots of Leah's intricate, geometric ceramic surfaces.
'Anti-Digital' Making: Why she rejects screens and software in favour of the hand, the eye, and the hour-long stitch.
The Brain Tumour Book: How embroidery became a diary of diagnosis, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy — exhibited this April at London's Fitzrovia Chapel with Cavaliero Finn.
'Sewing is an act of emotional repair': Using thread — and her own hair — to process trauma, memory loss and identity.
Return to Clay: Re-entering the ceramic studio after illness, and how the two mediums now speak to each other.
Leah also reflects on collapsing behind a bar in the moment that changed everything, the role of her parents and partner in her recovery, and what making has taught her about being present.
You can support The Brain Tumour Charity via the Brain Tumour Book fundraising page: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/braintumourbookcharityfundraisingexhibition
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Can we actually recycle cigarette butts, dirty nappies, and coffee pods? Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle and the reuse platform Loop, joins Grant Gibson to reveal how 'Material Intelligence' can turn global rubbish into a viable business.
In this episode, we dive into the economics of waste and the design of a circular future. We discuss:
The ‘Milkman’ Model: How Loop is bringing back convenient reuse.
Dirty Nappies & Chewing Gum: The tech behind recycling the ‘unrecyclable’.
The Problem with Sandpaper: Why some materials remain a design flaw.
Business of Rubbish: From a ‘worm poop’ startup to a global powerhouse.
Politics & Sustainability: Building a green business in a shifting climate.
Tom also reflects on his journey as a refugee, dropping out of Princeton, and why his office is permanently filled with trash.
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Can a communication designer change the global conversation on rubbish? Sophie Thomas OBE—a rare blend of campaigner, chartered waste manager, and practicing designer—joins Grant Gibson to discuss her extraordinary, three-decade journey at the vanguard of sustainable design.
In this episode, we explore how ‘material intelligence’ and circular design thinking can inform activism. We discuss:
Graphic Activism: How design can move beyond ‘guilt’ to create real environmental change.
Rubbish Tours: a life-changing trip to a Dutch recycling center and what happens when you take a thousand designers to a landfill site.
Obsession with the Toothbrush: Why a simple, ubiquitous object exposes a global design flaw.
The Future of Ink: Why Sophie’s future career is shifting back to the most fundamental graphic material.
Sophie also reflects on starting her career at The Body Shop, working on the Earth Centre, and whether a designer can ever create without guilt.
Explore more: Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences, and sign up to our newsletter for regular updates and insights on material intelligence.
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