Design Map · Eindhoven
2,000 Tons: the Value We Waste
Graduation project by Charlotte Meinicke at Design Academy Eindhoven, 2026. Shown during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven on Design Map, location F5.
While researching heideschaap wool, a Dutch sheep breed whose coarse wool falls outside industrial use, Meinicke’s investigation informed the making of a collection of felted stools. Rather than treating the wool’s coarse texture as a deficiency, the project reframes it as structural strength. An assemblage of modular seating objects can be reconfigured, resembling the positions of a herd of sheep. Alternating between hand and machine felting, each piece evolves from a voluminous mass of untreated wool into experienceable furniture. Over time, the worn sections of a piece can be reshaped by needle-felting additional layers of locally sourced wool. Yellow ear tags attached to each piece encourage conversations about the economic pressures surrounding the production of heideschaap wool and the breed’s wider relevance as a landscaping tool. Like herds of sheep, this constellation of objects repositions itself constantly, suggesting fresh insights into our relationship with a material as meaningful as wool.