Co-creation and nature as a design partner with Dasha Tsapenko
Welcome to a new episode of Maker Stories.
In our conversation, we explore what it means to use fashion as a medium for ideas, especially when the work is shaped through collaboration with plants, fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms. Dasha shares a way of designing that isn’t about control, but about creating the right conditions for something else to grow, and then responding to what emerges.
We also discuss the contrasts that define her practice: the messy intuition of the studio versus the precision of the lab, and the tension between craft and science, tradition and innovation. And we don’t shy away from the ethical questions, what it really means to say we collaborate with living systems.
If you care about design as a living process, and making with curiosity instead of certainty, I think you’ll find a lot of inspiration here. Let’s get started.
About the designer:
Dasha Tsapenko works at the intersection of architecture, art, material research, and fashion. Her practice explores how humans can co-create with non-human species—plants, fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms, to develop textiles and wearable pieces, and to question what design can be when it becomes a shared ecosystem.
Atelier Dasha Tsapenko | Grown Bio-Couture & Bespoke Collectibles
De designers en ik zouden het geweldig vinden als je deze podcast steunt door de podcast te delen en de like op het platform waarop je luistert.
Wil jij meer makers stories horen of weten wat Design platform Rotterdam allemaal te bieden heeft. Neem dan een kijkje op de website van Design platfrom Rotterdam
CREDITS:
Host: Yophi Ignacia
Platform: Design Platform Rotterdam
Productie + montage (intro/outro): Kisha Canwood
Artwork: A.J. Mets
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The designers and I would love it if you supported this podcast by sharing it and liking it on the platform you are listening to.
Do you want to hear more maker stories or find out what Design Platform Rotterdam has to offer? Then take a look at the Design Platform Rotterdam website.
CREDITS:
Host: Yophi Ignacia
Platform: Design Platform Rotterdam
Productie + montage (intro/outro): Kisha Canwood
Artwork: A.J. Mets
Maker Stories
Stap achter de schermen van design met Designplatform Rotterdam. Dit gaat niet over gepolijste eindproducten, het gaat om de rommelige, spannende en eerlijke reis van het maken. Van doorbraken tot twijfels, van experimenten tot mislukkingen, hoor hoe ideeën vorm krijgen, botsen en zich ontwikkelen.
Curator zeitgeist Yophi Ignacia spreekt met ontwerpers van nu over identiteit, technologie, duurzaamheid, gemeenschap en meer. Elke aflevering biedt nieuwe perspectieven: collectief werken, co-creatie, digitale innovatie, regeneratief design, storytelling en maatschappelijke impact.
Met stemmen variërend van opkomende makers tot gevestigde namen, biedt Maker Stories een zeldzaam kijkje achter de schermen van design als een levend, voortdurend proces. Laat je inspireren, verrassen en uitdagen en ontdek wat er écht nodig is om iets te maken dat ertoe doet.
Step behind the scenes of design with Designplatform Rotterdam. This isn’t about polished final products, it’s about the messy, thrilling, and honest journey of making. From breakthroughs to doubts, experiments to failures, hear how ideas take shape, clash, and evolve.
Join curator zeitgeist Yophi Ignacia as she talks with today’s designers about identity, technology, sustainability, community, and more. Each episode brings fresh perspectives: collective work, co-creation, digital innovation, regenerative design, storytelling, and social impact.
With voices ranging from emerging makers to established names, Maker Stories offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at design as a living, evolving process. Be inspired, surprised, and challenged and see what it really takes to make something that matters.