The Unlikely Origin Story of ekoa Surfacing Material

This product is certainly making waves: ekoa, a flax-driven composite material for walls and millwork, was featured in multiple showrooms in its NeoCon debut this past June. Martin Brattrud and Bulo highlighted the material, and it even had a spot in the Metropolis Sustainability Lab.

Invented by former Ferrari designer Joe Luttwak to replace old-growth wood and carbon fiber in (wait for it) guitars, ekoa proved so durable that it was then adapted for sports equipment such as surfboards, bikes, and pickleball paddles. So, when it started to catch the eye of interior designers, Luttwak pivoted to interiors and began his rise as a sustainability innovator.

“Guitars are beautiful, but walls are everywhere,” Luttwak says. “In my early career, I saw firsthand how resource-intensive traditional materials could be [used] in mass production. That sparked a drive to innovate with renewable, responsibly sourced inputs, proving that high-performance design can still be ecologically responsible.”

Not only is flax carbon-negative, but it also regrows in 90 days, allowing for a continuous supply of high-quality fibers. Produced in California from flax and bio-resin with no added chemicals or off-gassing, ekoa is fully biobased and is certified Red List Free, Clean Air GOLD, and Mindful MATERIALS.

Sustainably responsible but also highly versatile, ekoa can be spec’d as a seamless sheet-to-sheet installation or as smooth, beautiful curves with a 3-inch radius. Not to mention, it is naturally translucent to allow for LED backlighting.

It’s been quite the journey to commercial design for Luttwak and his lean, mean team who plan to only continue reimagining what materials can do. We can't wait to follow along to see just how far they go!

—AnnMarie Martin

Joe Luttwak, founder of ekoa