Old Craft, New Material

What if leather wasn't made from animal hide? Leather craft specialist Justin and luxury accessory designer Michelle Lowe-Holder share their experience working with mycelium, a new kind of material. Often called "plant leather," mycelium is actually not a leather at all, but a completely independent material with its own unique texture, scent, and clean cutting properties.

Crafted from MYCEL's proprietary mycelium-based biomaterial, CELMURE, this project captures what Justin and Michelle discovered while applying traditional leather craft techniques to this new material, examining how mycelium behaves under the hands of makers trained in animal hide leather.

Through cutting, weaving, and shaping CELMURE, the project reveals a material that resists easy categorization, neither leather nor plant, but something entirely its own. It's a story about a sustainable material that comes from nature and returns to it, and about the craftsmanship built on top of it.

"A material in itself"

Q. What was most surprising about working with this material?

What stood out most was how the material combined characteristics familiar from leather with something distinctly mushroom-like at the same time. It carries a tactile quality and a gentility that made applying traditional leatherworking techniques to a non-leather material one of the most interesting parts of the process.

"Collaboration Between Organisms"

Q. How did the material shape the design process?

Working with CELMURE felt like a collaboration between the material, the mycelium, and wood, celebrating an ancient connection between two organisms. The goal was to create something soft and inter-connective, eventually woven together with leather at the back.

"Not Leather, But Its Own Material"

Q. Why is it important to distinguish mycelium from "plant leather"?

Mycelium is often called "plant leather," but it isn't leather at all. It's a material in itself. It doesn't act like leather; it has its own properties, smell, and feel. It's a completely different material, with its own identity rather than one borrowed from animal hide.

"Discovering Through Making"

Q. What did the making process reveal?

Working with the material revealed how cleanly it cuts, producing distinctive marks that became the inspiration for a mycelium lace technique. The resulting pieces carried a vintage quality, natural, yet somehow already aged, which shaped the direction the designs ultimately took.

Craftsmanship Rooted in the Past, Designed for the Future

Q. What future does this project point toward?

The work reflects a belief that design should feel like history, resonating with the past while moving toward the future, without losing a real sense of craftsmanship. It points to a future built on beautiful craftsmanship and sustainable materials, ones like mycelium that come from the earth, move through a closed loop, and ultimately return to it.