Studio

Feamainn is a small material studio based in Hong Kong. We retrieve items from the marine environment that will be discarded into landfill sites, and then ferment, press, mix, cast and cut these waste materials into objects that are worth keeping and benefit society and the environment in new and unique ways.

Nothing is dyed, nothing is hidden—everything is considered, from the material’s birth to its end. Through nature we take inspiration and see solutions. 

Commissions and material consultancy taken year round.

Bioplastics can be composed of a range of feedstocks and are derived through multiple processes, some of which are more sustainable than others. The end product means some of these bioplastics can be hard to recycle or only biodegrade under specific circumstances such as high heat. This can make bioplastics as polluting as the fossil-fuel derived versions. Using microbes we make a 100% natural bioplastic from Cyanobacteria, one of the oldest living species on the planet. 

Every year across the globe seaweed is washed up in huge quantities. Left to decompose, the seaweed releases carbon dioxide, methane, sulphite dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases. Asides from the environmental problems this can cause, local communities and associated industries such as tourism, fisheries and aquaculture and power stations can be heavily impacted. Subsequently, seaweed waste is often collected and taken to landfill where it continues to rot. Taking this waste, we have devised a system to collect, wash and pyrolysis seaweed wrack into biochar, where it can be used as a new material to help filter and clean the air and water.

Globally, the aquaculture industry produces an estimated 10 to 20 million tonnes of seashell waste annually, a figure that continues to rise with growing global seafood demand.  Shell waste causes a significant practical and financial burden on shellfish producers and fisheries. For example, in an attempt to discourage the disposal of biomaterials, landfill tax of shell waste can incur additional ‘environmental’ charges of £130.75/tonne tax in the UK, with newly enforced outright bans in Scotland on the disposal of any biomaterials. The cost and challenges of disposal encourages illegal disposal of shell waste at sea or at unregulated landfill sites, which can damage coastal, soil and marine environments, and contributes to social problems through odours, pollution, and contimaniants (Mohamed et al. 2012; Popović et al., 2023)). Despite this significant waste stream, seashell waste is widely framed as a valuable biomaterial as the shells are rich in calcium carbonate-rich (Morris 2019; Medeiros 2025). 

What if food waste could be used to paint your walls, and what if, instead of poisoning the air you breathed, this paint cared for you and drew the toxins from the air and held onto them, so that you didn’t need to breathe them in. 

Taking shell waste we make reef tiles that encourage the formation of life. Waste can help protect our precious oceans. 

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Waste is gathered from harbours, workshops and building sites within fifty miles.

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Every stream is assessed and separated by polymer, grain and colour.

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Through a process of blending, casting and hand finishing. No virgin material, no pigment.

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Products help to mitigate the impact of humankind on the planet. Objects biodegrade or are recyclable at end of life.