Sum Studio have looked to the natural world, which is full of filters, membranes, and woven barriers that are ready to be utilized or mimicked. To prove just how accessible these materials are, they decided to grow their own bacterial cellulose face mask in their home quarantine kitchen while ideating some possible ways that this prototype could be iterated to function just like the melt-blown N95 fabric that is in short supply. Bacterial cellulose is created by a common bacteria, called xylinum acetobacter, on the surface of a liquid that they inhabit. This bacteria and it’s cellulose craftwork can be grown with as little as water, tea, sugar, and a small sample to feed and let flourish. As the bacteria multiply, they knit cellulose fibers into a single membrane that can be harvested and dried as a workable material. Though translucent and smooth to the human eye, microscopic images show the tight web of cellulose fibers that make up this incredible knit.