Meret

(◕‿◕✿) Very happy to have had the opportunity to showcase my work as part of the group exhibition “1m² Collective: No Space for Ego” during @dutchdesignweek . Thanks to @1m2collective for realizing the exhibition and for all their work in making it possible. Curated by @1m2collective @studiosamayam pluralmagazine Featuring all 17 participants across The Bridge & Hal 5 at @sectie_c @stevie.leigh.d @17_unfolds @salisupremacy @dit.is.ditte @rikgrevink @yfkedesign @mereteuch @papp_anett_ @neeltje.thomas @bagaceira_project @sophieconroy_ @poorvigarag @jonasriemersma 
@alejandro.jimenez.u 
@kinkleid 
@akash_badal_ 
@s.ashardeen @stvn.dw.design 
 Images by @bagaceira_project (thank you♡)

Meret Behnke is a designer and researcher whose practice grows through collaboration with people, ecologies, and histories. Working across objects, spaces, and narratives, she explores how design connects material knowledge with everyday realities — using craft as a way of learning, understanding, and relating to the world around us. Lamelle draws inspiration from traditional tile-making and the craft of restoration. Developed in collaboration with the mould-making department at Golem Kunst- & Baukeramik, the project explores the precision and tacit knowledge embedded in artisanal production.
The result is a three-dimensional tile that can be stacked in multiple configurations — forming a central cylindrical cavity that transforms the tile into a vase. Lamelle celebrates craft as both method and mindset, revealing how material engagement can shape design thinking and deepen our connection to making.

Special thanks to our co-curators:
@pluralmagazine 
@studiosamayam 

And to @sectie_c for giving us the space to exhibit

Better late than never. We’re thrilled (and blushing just a little☺️) to share that we’ve received the German Design Award Newcomer 2026 – Nominee label 🌟✨💫 We’re super-duper excited for whatever the future holds, while applauding everyone else on their own amazing journeys. Big thanks to all the lovely people we met on this journey ⸜( ˙˘˙)⸝ ♡ — for the inspiring moments, deep talks, and the collaborations that happened (and all the magical ones still to come). We’re so grateful that honestly we don’t even know what to say without sounding cheesy. We are incredibly thankful for our network — without it, we wouldn’t have come this far. If you’d like to follow along or connect, we’d love to expand our circle even more. Come say hi on LinkedIn! And finally, thanks to a surprising surge in professionalism, we now almost look like people who know exactly what they’re doing. Thanks to @germandesigncouncil for the recognition.

EVERBEARING examines the tension between control and instability through a living installation that reconstructs a fragment of a modern greenhouse, accompanied by a two-channel film work. In these artificial ecosystems, soil has become obsolete, with survival relying entirely on human intervention and precisely calibrated nutrient flows. Strawberry plants, suspended in water-filled bags, exist in a state of hypermobility, highlighting the vulnerability of manufactured environments. The dual projection juxtaposes commercial greenhouse cultivation with a tightrope walker in perpetual search for balance, bathing the installation in pink, growth-stimulating light. This fragile equilibrium, suspended between falling and recovery, mirrors a broader societal state of precarious instability. By inviting viewers to cut and take home a strawberry plant, the installation transforms them into active participants in a cycle of caretaking. Through this gesture, the work suggests that resilience does not emerge through optimization but through repeated encounters with imbalance, revealing the potential within uncertainty. Special thanks to @jeroenvandegruiter & @vibekemascini for their support, and to @dutch_berries for sharing their knowledge and giving us insights into their facilities ♡ (っ´▽`)っ🍓

EVERBEARING examines the tension between control and instability through a living installation that reconstructs a fragment of a modern greenhouse, accompanied by a two-channel film work. In these artificial ecosystems, soil has become obsolete, with survival relying entirely on human intervention and precisely calibrated nutrient flows. Strawberry plants, suspended in water-filled bags, exist in a state of hypermobility, highlighting the vulnerability of manufactured environments. The dual projection juxtaposes commercial greenhouse cultivation with a tightrope walker in perpetual search for balance, bathing the installation in pink, growth-stimulating light. This fragile equilibrium, suspended between falling and recovery, mirrors a broader societal state of precarious instability. By inviting viewers to cut and take home a strawberry plant, the installation transforms them into active participants in a cycle of caretaking. Through this gesture, the work suggests that resilience does not emerge through optimization but through repeated encounters with imbalance, revealing the potential within uncertainty. Special thanks to @jeroenvandegruiter & @vibekemascini for their support, and to @dutch_berries for sharing their knowledge and giving us insights into their facilities ♡ @designacademyeindhoven (っ´▽`)っ🍓

BEHIND THE SCENES of our project exploring our fragile relationship with water, at once our biggest source of life and a brutal force capable of destroying that what we build up around us. Whilst typing a text on how lovely our collaboration was, I feel heavy. I am acutely aware how privileged l am not to have to faced water’s consequences in life (yet). The pressing reality of droughts and floods in other parts of the world shocks me, and I realize these scenes are still a soft interpretation of its power. Still, I hope that through subtle world-building, these realities can be felt before we are forced to wake up to disaster. Perhaps this is naïve. With @josephineconen , @julio_rebora and @mereteuch .

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴: 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴. Through moving image, we explored water across scales and context from the industrial to the emotional. These scenes offer perspectives on what is, and what could be, when water becomes the lens through which we imagine the world. How will water use be governed? What will our lives look like in such contexts? What role will water play in our imagination? These questions guided our world-building and led to a beautiful collaboration. 𝘛𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴. A project by @josephineconen , @julio_rebora , @mereteuch and @siriheidweiller . With special thanks to @nvisible.studio for the amazing support, @waterschapdedommel for the great location, and our actors Luc, Aike and Roan for their joyful play. ♡ @designacademyeindhoven

☻🇮🇸☻ ( ◠ ◡ ◠ )

❀ 𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲: 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦-𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 This is a project I worked on quite a while ago but never had the chance to share. In 2023, I did an amazing internship at @golembaukeramik ^_^☻, mainly focusing on the inspiring craftsmanship of the plaster moulding team, while also getting a glimpse into their glaze-making process. During my time there, I was able to create my own project: a three-dimensional tile that can be stacked in various ways. When the tiles are stacked, they form a cylindrical cavity in the center, creating a vase. Special thanks♡ to @golembaukeramik for the big support and @jona_mahlendorf for the amazing picturesᕙ༼*◕_◕*༽ᕤ

❀ 𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲: 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦-𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 This is a project I worked on quite a while ago but never had the chance to share. In 2023, I did an amazing internship at @golembaukeramik ☻, mainly focusing on the inspiring craftsmanship of the plaster moulding team, while also getting a glimpse into their glaze-making process. During my time there, I was able to create my own project: a three-dimensional tile that can be stacked in various ways. When the tiles are stacked, they form a cylindrical cavity in the center, creating a vase. Special thanks♡ to @golembaukeramik for the big support and @jona_mahlendorf for the amazing picturesᕙ༼*◕_◕*༽ᕤ

❀ 𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲: 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦-𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 This is a project I worked on quite a while ago but never had the chance to share. In 2023, I did an amazing internship at @golembaukeramik ☻, mainly focusing on the inspiring craftsmanship of the plaster moulding team, while also getting a glimpse into their glaze-making process. During my time there, I was able to create my own project: a three-dimensional tile that can be stacked in various ways. When the tiles are stacked, they form a cylindrical cavity in the center, creating a vase. Special thanks♡ to @golembaukeramik for the big support and @jona_mahlendorf for the amazing picturesᕙ༼*◕_◕*༽ᕤ

laaast little recap of the funfunfun production side @019ghent 🐳