Heron Preston and MycoWorks Introduce One-of-a-Kind Art Piece Made with Reishi™

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Dec. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, artist, creative director, and designer Heron Preston debuted an art piece inspired by and designed with MycoWorks' innovative mycelium material, Reishi™: A Fruit Bowl by Heron Preston for MycoWorks, which will be available exclusively on a new digital platform by Heron Preston that will launch early next year. The inimitable, one edition only piece represents the first of many product launches between Heron Preston and MycoWorks.

Biotechnology company MycoWorks was originally founded by artists who pioneered the use of mycelium and other living materials to grow and create art. MycoWorks has since developed, commercialized, and scaled its flagship material, Reishi™ – a unique, flexible, durable material that emulates the handfeel of animal leather but is made entirely from mycelium, the infinitely renewable root structure of mushrooms.

Born out of a joint appreciation for the sensory attributes and limitless design possibilities of mycelium and Reishi™, A Fruit Bowl by Heron Preston for MycoWorks will be exclusively available as part of Heron's soon-to-launch, digital platform focused on L.E.D. (Less Environmentally Destructive) concepts and how they can take shape in culturally relevant and relatable ways.

Heron Preston said: "A fruit bowl is usually one of the first objects that painters depict to demonstrate their skills and understanding of the medium. And this is an exercise on how this material (Fine Mycelium), through my lens is getting its start - as a fruit bowl. A material with endless possibilities and applications, like a painting. The fruit made of Fine Mycelium messages new beginnings and a future not bound by our past, but pushed forward through our imagination and human ingenuity; a breakthrough in materials science and biotechnology."

Sophia Wang, MycoWorks Co-Founder & Chief of Culture said: "Given MycoWorks' roots in art, this partnership with Heron Preston represents our company's enduring values of thoughtful design and aesthetics, wide-ranging inspiration, and visionary imagination. Over the last decade, MycoWorks has grown to over 160 employees and produces tens of thousands of sheets of material per year, but these values have and will always hold true."

Heron Preston will continue to craft and launch a range of designs made with Reishi™ in 2023.

Hi-res images of A Fruit Bowl by Heron Preston for MycoWorks can be found here. 

In 2013, co-founders Philip Ross and Sophia Wang founded MycoWorks, a San Francisco-based biomaterials company dedicated to bringing new mycelium materials to the world. MycoWorks' patented Fine Mycelium™ technology, an advanced manufacturing platform and breakthrough in materials science, engineers mycelium during growth to form proprietary, interlocking cellular structures for unparalleled strength and durability.

Fine Mycelium™ refers both to MycoWorks' proprietary process and to a new category of materials used in the fashion, footwear, automotive, and decor industry that are exclusive to MycoWorks. MycoWorks flagship Fine Mycelium™ product, Reishi™ is a premium, natural material that offers the quality, hand feel, and performance of the finest animal leathers with lower environmental impact and unprecedented freedom to customize.

For more information, please visit mycoworks.com and madewithreishi.com.

Media Contact:
Lauren Daum
[email protected]

SOURCE MycoWorks