GIY Maker Spotlight: Grace Knight - From BeeBlocks to Biofabricated Futures
Growing the Future, One Mycelium Project at a Time
When Grace Knight first encountered mycelium in a Natural Materials course at RISD, she couldn't have imagined it would shape her entire career trajectory. Today, she stands as a pioneer in the biomaterials space, having designed everything from pollinator-friendly garden blocks to revolutionary furniture that grows itself together—all from mushroom roots.
The Journey Begins: BeeBlocks and the Power of Observation
Grace's introduction to mycelium came through an unlikely lens: the plight of solitary pollinator bees. In 2016, inspired by research from Paul Stamets and Stanford University revealing the immune system benefits mycelium provides to bees, Grace created BeeBlock—a stackable, living brick system that serves both pollinators and plants.
"I realized I didn't want to test for a problem—I knew it was there. I was fixated on the solution, the design opportunity," Grace reflects. This philosophy would guide her entire approach to biomaterials: observe nature's wisdom, then design with it, not against it.
The BeeBlock project exemplified Grace's core belief: "If you design for nature, you're designing for all." These weren't just garden blocks; they were living ecosystems that strengthened local mason bee populations while providing nutrients to plant roots—a perfect symbiosis of form and function.
Scaling Up: The SynBioBeta Stage
Just months after joining Ecovative in 2018, Grace faced her first major challenge: co-designing a stage made entirely from mycelium for SynBioBeta. This wasn't just any stage—it would be the largest set design ever built with MycoComposite panels and the first to incorporate Ecovative's MycoFlex biopolymer.
Working alongside fellow designer Danielle Marino, the team had two ambitious goals: surprise the audience with the revelation that the entire set was grown from mushrooms, and empower individuals to create their own biomaterial projects.
The result was nothing short of magical. The stage featured backlit MycoFlex panels that showcased mycelium's beautiful vascular structure, creating an ethereal glow that captivated conference attendees.
Provocative Futures: The OuroSteak Project
In 2019, Grace ventured into speculative design with OuroSteak, a collaboration with Orkan Telhan and Andrew Pelling through Ourochef. This provocative project explored cultivated meat grown from human cells, challenging conventional notions of sustainability and consumption. The project garnered international attention, being nominated for the prestigious Beazley Designs of the Year award and featured in The New York Times.
OuroSteak toured with the "Designs for Different Futures" exhibition, appearing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Walker Art Center, sparking conversations about the future of food, ethics, and biotechnology.
Building a Movement: From Marketing to MyForest Foods
The success of these early projects catalyzed the creation of Ecovative's marketing team, with Grace exploring mycelium's vast potential. For a year, she prototyped everything imaginable: shoes, jacket liners, eye masks, face masks—diving deep into beauty, fashion, and food applications.
This exploration led to Grace's involvement in building out and branding what would become MyForest Foods (originally Atlast Food Co., then MyEats), bringing sustainable mycelium-based foods to market.
Revolutionizing Access: The GIY Kit and Grow.bio Rebrand
Before tackling her next monumental stage project, Grace spearheaded a complete transformation of grow.bio, Ecovative's community and education division. While mycelium substrate in bags had existed before, Grace brought her industrial design expertise to create a truly user-friendly, designed experience for first-time growers.
The GIY (Grow It Yourself) Kit she developed includes everything needed to get started: mini growth forms, mycelium material, flour, alcohol wipes, washi tape, gloves, and detailed instructions—all housed in thoughtfully designed packaging. Grace also led a complete rebrand of grow.bio, creating a fresh visual identity with a modern spin on primary educational colors and invitingly rounded shapes that evoke "fun" while maintaining sophistication.
This wasn't just about making mycelium accessible; it was about creating an experience that embodies grow.bio's mission to "Learn. Grow. Create."
The Smithsonian Stage: Designing for the Future, Today
After navigating the pandemic years, Grace returned to large-scale installation with an ambitious project: creating a modular, fire-resistant backdrop for the Smithsonian's FUTURES exhibit. Working with colleagues Tyler Moquin and Nick Meyers, Grace designed a stage that could be assembled and disassembled in under an hour, featuring a log lightbox spelling "FUTURES" in glowing mycelium letters.
The hemp-based tiles weren't just aesthetically striking with their velvet-soft mycelium exterior—they were acoustically absorptive and met strict indoor fire codes. "When all of this is possible, maybe the better question than why design a stage with mycelium is, why build a stage with traditional materials?" Grace poses.
Mushroom Days: An Immersive Mycelium World
Following the Smithsonian success, Grace created her most ambitious installation yet: a massive, all-mycelium expo booth for Ecovative Spawn and Substrate at Mushroom Days. This project was a tour de force of collaboration, bringing together 80+ Mushlume lamp shades by Danielle Trofe, Tom Dixon chairs and towers grown by Magical Mushroom Company, acoustic tiles and over a hundred bricks grown by Grown.bio, a mycelium coffin from Loop, and more.
The booth wasn't just a display—it was an immersive experience that demonstrated the full potential of mycelium materials across multiple design disciplines.
Pushing Boundaries: AGI Denim Collaboration
In 2023, Grace tackled a new challenge: creating a custom material blend for AGI Denim. She innovated by adding post-consumer waste denim shoddy to grow.bio's hydrated mycelium material, casting over 600 bricks to create a striking display for the artist's boxes at Kingpins NYC. This project showcased how mycelium could incorporate waste streams from other industries, turning textile waste into architectural elements.
Educational Impact: New York Botanical Garden
Grace's commitment to education took form in her collaboration with the New York Botanical Garden for their "Wonderland: Curious Nature" exhibition. She taught grow.bio GIY workshops to NYBG staff, who integrated the activity into their Children's Garden programming. Additionally, the Mushroom Packaging team grew thousands of bricks for the #homegrown mycelium house designed by Andre Kong Studio, demonstrating mycelium's architectural potential to young learners.
Byobu by Kamilla Csegzi- FFAD Spring 2025
Nurturing the Next Generation: The FFAD Program
Beyond her own creative work, Grace has been instrumental in cultivating the next wave of mycelium designers through Forager's Fashion Art and Design (FFAD) Program. As program director, she selects just two designers from hundreds of applicants each semester, guiding them through their first encounters with revolutionary mycelium foam and leather-like materials.
Grace shares her extensive knowledge of working with mycelium, offering tips and tricks gained from years of experience. She guides participants through post-processing techniques and custom material applications, culminating in a final critique where designers present their prototypes to the Forager team. Under her mentorship, FFAD participants have gone on to showcase their work at conferences and exhibitions, build their portfolio with this exclusive-access biomaterial, and contribute to the growing mycelium design community.
A World First: The Milan Triennale Stool
In spring 2024, Grace achieved what may be a world first. Commissioned by Columbia University for the Milan Triennale, she grew a revolutionary mycelium stool using an entirely new technique. The design was lined with hemp mat and grown flat with 45-degree miter inserts, then folded origami-style into its final form.
The breakthrough? The mycelium actually bio-welds the beveled hinges together as it grows, creating sealed joints without any glue or hardware. As Grace announced on Instagram: "We're literally watching furniture grow itself together."
Beyond Ecovative: The Artist's Touch
While Grace's work with Ecovative has been groundbreaking, her artistic practice extends far beyond commercial applications. Her piece "Internal Reflection"—a three-tier stacking vessel grown from mycelium, inlayed with glass and mirror—was featured in the Connections exhibition, where artists were paired up to design objects that relate. This work and other artist's work featured on this blog demonstrates why mycelium is a choice material for artists and sculptors alike.
Recognition and Impact
Grace's innovative work has earned her numerous accolades and speaking engagements. She has served as a judge and moderator for the Biodesign Challenge, delivered webinars on mushrooms, spoken at conferences like Better World x Design and BIOFAB Revolutionaries, and gave guest lectures at RISD, Syracuse, and more.
The GIY Revolution Continues
Grace's journey from RISD student to biomaterials pioneer demonstrates the transformative power of curiosity, observation, and a willingness to ask "what if?" From her mycelium mentorship to creating provocative art and building monumental exhibitions, Grace has proven that mycelium isn't just an alternative material—it's a catalyst for reimagining how we make, teach, and live.
Inspired by Grace's work? Start your own mycelium journey with a GIY Kit from grow.bio and join the community of makers growing the future of materials.
Grace is also an accomplished ceramicist, woodworker, and stained glass artist, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to all her creative work.
Follow Grace's work:
- Website: gracemknight.com
- Instagram: @gracemknight
- Featured in: The New York Times, Smithsonian, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, Beazley Designs of the Year, Dezeen, Rivet, Metroland, Range, Chronogram, Merlin Sheldrake's "Entangled Life" (Illustrated Edition)
- Awards: Rachel Carson Award, Beazley Designs of the Year Nominee
