Crafting with Life: Mycelium, Biodesign, and a Regenerative Materials Economy with Amanda Morgan from Fungi Solutions | #16

Send us Fan MailIf you could ask a living material to help fix our mess, what would you grow first – packaging, panels, or leather? We sit down with Amanda from Fungi Solutions to share how mycelium turns waste streams into durable, lightweight, and compostable products that actually work at scale. From early experiments binding fashion off-cuts to refined packaging that replaces polystyrene, we map the practical steps, the surprises, and the mindset shift from manufacturing to collaboration with living systems.We get specific on biofabrication: substrates, environmental tuning, and the difference between compressive strength and torsion when you’re eyeing the built environment. Amanda walks us through treatments and finishes – waterproofing, laser texturing, surface skins – and why designing for decomposition is a feature, not a flaw. We talk testing before certification, how to manage MOQs as a small team, and the honest limits today: organics are ready now, plastics need pretreatment and more R&D. Along the way, there’s additive manufacturing with mycelium pastes, sculptural interiors people refuse to throw away, and the sensory surprise of a material that feels like cork meets velvet.Zooming out, we explore the circular economy infrastructure at a systems-level scale. From waste mapping, regional feedstock modelling, and how AI might supercharge biomaterials (automating humidity, predicting contamination, and powering local facilities). We celebrate community labs, open-source cultivation, and non-traditional pathways into STEM, because access fuels innovation. And there’s fresh news: mycelium leather is now available for distribution, with R&D underway to push performance and craft. Suppose you are one of those wonderful humans who care about sustainable packaging, biomaterials for construction, regenerative manufacturing, or want to see fungi outcompete foam. In that case, this conversation offers an insightful take from someone who is actively pushing forward in this space.Enjoyed the chat? Follow, share with a friend who geeks out on biodesign, and leave a review to help more people discover these regenerative solutions.Keen to learn more? Check out the links below: AmandaWebsiteInstagramLinkedInKeep Following the PatternSam's InstagramSubstackCoLabs CoLabs NewsletterThis is an evolving experiment.The Strange Attractor is produced by Ecotone Studio — a creative practice exploring the fertile edge where art, science, technology and philosophy meet.Like the ecosystems we are a part of, this project is designed to evolve. Every conversation changes the next one.If there’s a question you’d like us to explore, a guest we should invite, or a theme you think deserves more attention, drop us a line. We’re especially interested in the spaces between disciplines—the ecotones where unexpected ideas emerge. If you’re building something thoughtful, beautiful or regenerative, or simply wrestling with questions that matter, we’d love to hear from you. Thanks for listening. Until next time — stay curious.