Toolcollection is a collection of tools highly crafted to fit individual experience while facilitating growth processes.  It includes 7 tools for brushing, stirring and picking up small objects, as well as a pair of magnifying spectacles to alter vision. 

Interiorobjects are objects for the interior space. This includes funguseat - a seat grown from mycelium, the vegetative system of fungi. Mycelium was grown into an organic wood based substrate which it fused together over time.
Extensions extend the body’s abilities and include glovextensions; these extend the glove to cover varying amounts of the body to protect experiments from contamination, cosmetic explants; future tissue-cultured body additions which alter the shape of the body, olfactorxtender; a small wearable device for the nose which would be filled genetically modified bacteria which produce the odor of bananas, to be worn when growing material with unpleasant odors, and cellubiotic ingestulose; a pill which would alter the body’s bacteria to include a bacteria which produces cellulose material from the pores of skin. It serves as a visual indication of stress levels, with color varying in relation to stress.

Garmentobjects are alternative garments, grown with mycelium, tissue culture and cellulose material produced by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. These materials are used in new rituals which create a more connected relationship to the body. Fungal footwear are alternative shoes grown from mycelium which can be worn or displayed. Garmentobjects include
 
Wetgarment; a ritual in which sheets of grown cellulose material are placed on the body and allowed to dry over a period of 7 days as the wearer rests to allow for this process. It develops a strong connection between the body, material and resulting wearable. 

Edibleskins, Ediblematter is a ritual in which a wearable second-skin is grown via tissue culture, worn, then eaten in a special meal with guests.
Nourishments, Eatables nourish the body. These future foods provide nutrients to sustain the body. 

These collections are presented within Vivorium, along with a narrative which guides the reader through the lifestyle. The project aims to provoke new alternative ways to perceive our bodies in relation to objects and fashion. The process involved extensive research and experimentation, growing materials in the lab. This research was then used to creatively rethink the way we interact with the objects around us.

Ali Schachtschneider is an artist and designer interested in the body's interaction with technology, which she explores through the growth of materials.  She uses tools from a variety of disciplines, including fashion and biology, to extend the body. Ali is interested in creating alternative ways of understanding the body in relation to the things which surround it. She is an artist at Genspace Community Biotech Lab in New York, where she experiments with a variety of materials and technologies. Her work is provocative, blurring the lines between body, material and objects.
 
For book enquiries please contact Ali Schachtschneider
schas616@newschool.edu
alischachtschneider.com