It’s not often that you’d say marble dust, recycled paper, wood shavings and casein in the same sentence. But you can’t describe designer Arturo Spardaro’s new material, Marmolatte, without mentioning all four elements.

It came about as a result of Arturo’s participation in The Material Way, a new educational course with a very unique relationship to materials. Carried out over an intensive nine-month online program, the course is billed as “a new collaborative platform for material-based studies focused on supporting curious creators who strive to craft a more holistic, local, and nature-minded future.”

While the first three waste substances listed are increasingly commonplace in the world of materials, casein, the main protein found in dairy products, is far less customary, and indeed, seldom used outside of food production. When mixed, the ingredients form a paste, which is moldable, and once set, creates a solid composite surface. The resulting material can be cut, sanded and drilled like wood or stone, with the potential to create objects and furniture, as well as being used as a surface covering.