ABSTRACT
Materials both shape the world we make and reflect the way we view that world. All materials are inextricably linked—to each other and to the natural, social and cultural domains—through a complex of deep patterns, networks, balances and cycles. Designing with the artisan co-operative Sna Jolobil in Chiapas, Mexico, it was evident that the weavers understood these relationships tacitly—the rhythm and speed of back-strap-loom technology, the fabric width, symbols and ornament, the people themselves, have all co-evolved through a profound sense of place and being-in-the-world (Morris and Foxx, 1988). However, in our modern, global economic system, we experience materials quite differently, as inert substances extracted from the earth in kilograms and barrels, swiftly transformed into units for sale. More complex interrelationships are glimpsed only sometimes—usually when shocks in the system occur.
