Meet Martin Bide

Sometimes when one envisions changing the world by overturning and reinventing systems it appears to be a daunting task –to put it mildly! So it’s best to surround oneself with people who share your vision and through this create community. This is an ongoing process at TILL: bFt and we’ve met so many wonderful people who have become our collaborators and co-conspirators that we’ve decided to introduce you to them (and them to one another) via a short set of questions.

First up is one of our consultants Martin Bide, Ph.D who is also a professor at The University of Rhode Island where he teaches courses in Textile Science, Color Science, Dyeing, and Textile Testing.

What excites you about Wear Wool New London?
My degrees are from the University of Bradford in the UK, one-time "wool capital of the world" (some cities might have a stock exchange, or a corn exchange, but Bradford had a "wool exchange") and the smell of wool grease was a familiar one when I was there. So I have a fondness for wool that has continued in my subsequent career: projects on wool scouring, running seminars on wool dyeing, and helping out with the "Rhody Warm" blanket project with RI wool growers. It's fun to get involved with wool again!

What is one idea that has fundamentally changed you/your life trajectory?
A high school science project in chromatography and the separation of colors –hence a degree in Color Chemistry at a university that was smart enough to test prospective students for color blindness.

What analog object or activity do you enjoy?
My home and garden, including the "Phyllis Bide" rose originally bred by my Great grandfather's brother in the 1920s

If you could live in another time period when/why?
No thanks! I can imagine attractive aspects of many former times that would be wonderful to observe, but to live then would carry so many negatives (disease, war, ignorance..) that it would be intolerable

What has living during a pandemic taught you?
That I am fortunate to live in circumstances that easily allow for isolation, and that I am resilient enough to thrive in that isolation.

In one sentence what is your positive prediction or hope for the future?
I hope that the world population can calmly and peacefully decline to a level that is truly "sustainable": we no longer take from the earth in a year more that it can provide, and when organic farming can supply all our needs