Designer Merel Karhof

Merel Karhof (Netherlands, 1978) is a designer of objects and installations, whose practice bridges the fields of design, sustainability and storytelling. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, (Design Products MA) and the Design Academy Eindhoven (Man and Leisure BA).


Her work process blends a scientific approach with storytelling to develop poetic designs for the living environment. Karhof’s objects make for example the potential of wind energy and energy harvesting tangible. At the core of her oeuvre we find a series of wind made objects from upholstered furniture to knitted scarves, created with the ‘Wind Knitting Factory’, a wind-powered knitting machine. But as well we see a windmill brooch, which is not just a piece of jewellery, but also a producer of energy and a green striped scarf that reveals the daily changing colour of the water in Venice.


Karhof has presented her work in exhibitions in London, Milan, Venice and China. In 2011, the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, purchased her work and recently the Zuiderzeemuseum bought her ‘Tanning-Laboratory’ for their permanent collection. She is also co-founder of lighting design label ‘ShadeVolume’ and currently she teaches at the London College of Fashion.

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Designer Merel Karhof walks into the meadow with the Wind Knitting Factory wind blades in her handMerel Karhof is fixing the sustainable wind knitted scarf, it dropped one stitch Designer Merel Karhof inspects her Wind Knitting Factory if the lambswool feeds well into the Wind Knitting Factory
Product designer Merel Karhof looks into her Wind Knitting Factory, to see if the knitting of the sustainable scarf is going well, she is knitting with the wind corporate gifts for province north Holland in the colors of their logoDesigner Merel Karhof explains Marlou van Gennep Jansma van Makerting how the Wind Knitting Factory works, the machine stands in a meadow and knits a red sustainable scarf which is a corporate gift for province north hollandThe Wind Knitting Factory has a weight hanging on it, without this weight the knitted scarf will drop off the wind knitting factory, also you see the Designers skirt.