NewspaperWood

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The development of NewspaperWood (then known as KrantHout) began in 2003 as the result of a research project by Design Academy Eindhoven alumna Mieke Meijer. Following a collaboration with Vij5 in 2007 and a joint presentation of the material in 2011, the material underwent a long development process. We are proud to be one of the founders of NewspaperWood bv and continue to use the material for various products in the “ Vij5 ” collection.

How It All Began

Every day, stacks of newspapers are thrown away and recycled into New paper. While studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Mieke Meijer came up with a way to use this surplus paper in a different way and turn it into an innovative material: NewspaperWood.

"NewspaperWood allows newsprint made from wood to revert to wood. The NewspaperWood has surprisingly similar properties to those of (solid) wood. When the NewspaperWood is sawn, the different layers of the paper come to the surface. From a distance this looks strikingly like wood grains or annual rings of a tree, but if you look closer you can even discover a letter here and there."

Mieke and Vij5 (Arjan van Raadshooven & Anieke Branderhorst) first crossed paths in 2007. Upon seeing the “ NewspaperWood ” in Mieke’s portfolio, a collaboration quickly took shape. Mieke and Vij5 pre-
sented the product together for the first time during the “ Dutch Design Week” in Eindhoven in 2008. Afterward, Mieke and Vij5 continued to develop the material and the associated production process.

First " NewspaperWood " Collection

For the launch of the first product collection and the international presentation of the material, Mieke and Vij5 asked a group of talented Dutch Designers to experiment with NewspaperWood within the Vij5 collection.

The main goal was to foster an open mindset and explore the possibilities this new material had to offer. We wanted to embrace experimentation and create an open atmosphere for the project as a whole, in order to keep future possibilities open and within reach.

This diverse collection was successfully presented in Milan in April 2011. Since then, the material “ NewspaperWood ” has been featured at various exhibitions and trade shows both in the Netherlands and abroad.

Upcycling

NewspaperWood It is not intended to become a large-scale alternative to wood or to reuse all paper waste in a New material. The main theme of the project is “upcycling”; we demonstrate how surplus material can be transformed into something more valuable by by using it in a different context.

Despite the fact that the newspaper’s current printing techniques are so efficient that proofs and initial unusable copies are kept to a minimum, we still have plenty of source material available. In addition, we use “yesterday’s newspaper”—copies that weren’t distributed and are already old news today… all of this provides us with a perfect, local source of material!

To “upcycle” newsprint into “ NewspaperWood ,” we (temporarily) remove it from the existing paper recycling cycle. Our goal is to be able to return our own waste material to the cycle as well. That’s why we use an adhesive free of solvents and plasticizers that would make recycling more difficult. This not only makes it possible to return our own sawing and sanding waste to the cycle, but also means that the finished products can, so to speak, be disposed of along with the paper waste—although we naturally hope they will be cherished for a long time to come...

NewspaperWood BV

by Due to the growing success of NewspaperWood , it has now become a separate organization called NewspaperWood Holding BV. This company is dedicated to the production and development of NewspaperWood materials in order to explore new semi-finished products, finished products, and innovative applications.

For more information, please visit our web website :www.newspaperwood.com