In a hybrid event, on October 7th, a panel of experts will take a deep dive into the lifecycle and material potential of processing flax for fiber, oil and building materials. 

The panel is part of a series of public events coinciding with our current exhibition, Regeneration of Flax: Linseed, Linen, Shive & Oil at the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, 66 Fifth Avenue at 13th Street, New York. 

With 60% of textile fibers made of synthetic polyester today, we look to the robust history of flax growing over the last 36,000 years as a viable biobased alternative to synthetics. Flax is grown as a rotational crop and sequesters carbon as it grows. Flax fibers create linen fabrics, composites, and insulation. Flax seed can be a food or pressed into oils for finishes and flooring. Shive, a woody byproduct, is used for mulch and is being researched for flaxlime. We will discuss the methods of farming organically and the potential of flax to remove heavy metals from soil. Experts will discuss the challenges of scaling, applications in the built environment, and the benefits of local material sourcing for regional economies. 

The panel will be held from 5-6:30pm.  

RSVP here! Virtual attendance is still open for registration. 

HEIDI BARR, Co-Founder and CEO PA Flax Project

Heidi Barr is the Co-founder and CEO of the PA Flax Project, a cooperative dedicated to re-imagining the flax for linen industry in Pennsylvania. For over a decade she owned and operated Kitchen Garden Textiles, a Philadelphia based lifestyle brand working at the intersection of food and fabric. This work led to a deep understanding of the connection between textiles and farming. In 2020, with farmer Emma De Long, Heidi took this understanding to the next level and the PA Flax Project began. Her love for textiles and lifelong attention to environmental issues combine into her passion for bringing linen production back to Pennsylvania.

ALVIN ULRICH, President - Biolin Research Inc.

Since the 1990’s Alvin Ulrich has used public and private funding to carry out R&D work related to flax straw, fiber and shive with Biolin Research Inc., a company he founded in Saskatchewan, Canada, the major source location of oilseed flax in North America. His extensive experience growing, processing, grading and finding end uses for both the fiber and non-fiber portions of the flax plant have made him one of North America’s leading linologists. He is a founding member of the North American Linen Association, Biomass Quality Network Canada, Prairie Fibreshed and the ASTM sub-committee D13.17 Bast Fibers and Plants.

MARIE DEMAEGDT, Textile and Sustainability Manager

Marie Demaegdt is Textile and Sustainability Manager at the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp [formerly CELC]. She’s in charge of enhancing innovation in linen textiles - yarns, wovens and knits - and supporting designers in sourcing them, thanks to the digital and physical material libraries linendreamlab.com and Linen Dream Lab Paris. She coordinates Life Cycle data across the European flax & linen agro-industry to highlight the responsible practices of European Flax® fibre and Masters of Linen™ textiles and to make reliable data available through key databases. She represents flax-linen in the PEF Apparel & Footwear to co-construct the sectorial rules of the EU’s PEF method.

Header image: Flax Paper Windbreaker by Regine Neumann