The Designer Turning Oyster Shells Into Bioceramics ft. Chloe Harper E23

Send us Fan MailOyster shells don’t look like the start of a serious construction material, but they might be. We sat down with Chloe Harper, a biomaterials-obsessed industrial designer, to talk through her journey from tinkering with early biocomposites to building Shellstone: a cold-processed bioseramic tile made from reclaimed oyster shells. Along the way, we get honest about what it takes to turn a beautiful idea into something architects can actually specify, from strength and water absorbency through to the brutal economics of certification and testing.We dig into biodesign and biomimicry in plain language, using the oyster as the blueprint. Shells are already nature’s high-performance composite, grown slowly, layer by layer, and Chloe’s process borrows that logic while swapping kilns for chemistry. We also explore the messy middle of innovation: learning materials science as a “non-scientist doing science”, building prototypes fast, and leaning on collaborators to turn curiosity into repeatable results. If you care about sustainable building materials, circular construction, green chemistry, and the future material palette for Australia, there’s a lot here for you.Then we zoom out to the bigger system. Why do biomaterials still face stigma? How do words like “waste” vs “reclaimed” change trust and buying decisions? What would it take to grow a real blue economy where oyster shells, kelp, and other marine resources support local coastal economies rather than feeding business as usual? We finish by looking at the need for bioregional biohubs, and Chloe shares an open challenge: creating a plastic-free, bio-based waterproof coating that performs like a glaze without the usual downsides.If this sparked something, subscribe for more conversations on biomaterials and regenerative design, share the episode with a designer or architect who needs new options, and leave a review so more people can find the work.Keep 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.