The story of Thistle Board™ began with the vision of Greek multi-awarded product designer Spyros Kizis, who conceived and developed the original wild artichoke-based material as part of his ongoing research into sustainable materials and bio-based design. The first iterations were created for mould-based manufacturing applications, exploring how agricultural waste could be transformed into a high-value material with a unique natural aesthetic.
The material first gained international recognition through Artichair, one of Spyros Kizis’ signature works, which received multiple international design awards and demonstrated the creative and commercial potential of wild artichoke as a premium design material.
Building on the success of Artichair, the project evolved through the collaboration with PHEE. By contributing its material science expertise and manufacturing know-how, PHEE developed a laminate version of the original material, transforming the concept into Thistle Board™, a bio-based decorative surface suitable for scalable industrial production and a much broader range of furniture, interior design and architectural applications.
Today, Thistle Board™ represents the combination of the original material innovation conceived by Spyros Kizis and PHEE’s expertise in engineering it into a commercially viable decorative laminate.
This collaboration demonstrates how design vision and material technology can work together to accelerate the adoption of sustainable materials.
Since then, Thistle Board™ has become an integral part of Spyros Kizis’ design practice. It has been used in his signature furniture pieces, as the Forest Table, as well as in a number of bespoke architectural and interior design projects where material innovation, craftsmanship and sustainability come together.
A milestone of this collaboration was the selection of Thistle Board™ for the design and production of custom furniture installed at the Selfridges London Restaurant,
demonstrating that bio-based materials can successfully meet the aesthetic and performance standards of internationally recognised commercial spaces.
The Thistle Collection by Kizis Studio · Photos: Andrew Meredith
More than a custom material development project, this long-term collaboration demonstrates how designers and material innovators can work together to accelerate the adoption of sustainable materials, create new design possibilities and contribute to the decarbonization of the furniture and construction industries.
