Beautiful discoveries

Air Ink - Ink from Air Pollution

Whilst visiting Mumbai on a break from studying at MIT, Anirudh Sharma was struck by how his clothes were dirtied by the car pollution in the city.  He was inspired to create ‘Kaalink’, a device that collects soot directly from a car’s exhaust pipe.  This soot is then harvested and turned into Air-Ink, the world’s first ink made from air pollution.

Ede’s a bit of a stationery fan and is desperate to find an Air-Ink pen to try out, but can’t find anywhere to buy one!

Discovering this reminded us of a story we were told whilst visiting the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, a remarkably beautiful building designed by Mimar Sinan in the 16th Century.  Sinan designed the mosque’s air flow so that all the smoke from the candles and oil lamps was directed through a single passage where the soot was collected.  This was harvested and processed into ink for use by the Imams and scholars in the mosque.

We dream of hosting a retreat in Turkey one day. We’d love to share the culture, the heritage, the food and the incredible hospitality of the Turkish people.

Read more at https://www.designoftheworld.com/air-ink/