Ullarthon 2021

The Ullarthon was an Icelandic wool-themed idea/invention marathon ("ull" = Icelandic for wool) hosted by the Icelandic Textile Center in collaboration with Innovation Center Iceland within the framework of CENTRINNO, funded by the Agricultural Productivity Fund.  Fund. Idea marathons are about finding innovative solutions to a specific challenge or topic, in this case: Icelandic wool. The Ullarthon aimed to support sustainable wool innovation and product development, and help increase the value of Icelandic wool, especially the classes/categories least profitable today. The event itself was held online March 25. - 29., 2021, with over 100 participants submitting 63 ideas in four categories (challenges): 

1) Utilizing unprocessed wool
2) Wool mixes and blends
3) Product innovation
4) Digital solutions and traceability 

On April 17, the panel of judges - including representatives from the Icelandic Agricultural Advisory Center, Össur Orthophaedics, the Icelandic University of the Arts, the Ministry of Industry and Innovation and the Environment Agency of Iceland - evaluated submissions and chose their Top 5 finalists. On May 20, winners were announced during the Textile Association's DesignMarch exhibition in Reykjavík, with Guðni H. Jóhannesson, the president of Iceland, giving out awards.

The winning teams were: 

Unprocessed wool: ,,Ullarhúsið“ Jón Gautasson & Hrönn Jónsdóttir https://youtu.be/LN2xnEJD2y0

Wool blends and mixes: ,, Snoðbreiðan“ María Dís Ólafsdóttir, Helga Aradóttir, Kristín S. Gunnarsdóttir og Mörður Moli Gunnarsson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pthnpLDigg 

Product innovation: ,,Cool Wool Box“ ; Anna María G. Pétursdóttir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHACcSxV92Q

Digital solutions and traceability: „Unikind“; Laufey Kristín Skúladóttir & Hanna Birna Sigurðardóttir https://youtu.be/oPZmc8a2NE0

 

 Thank you everyone for your participation and great ideas!