Ella Merriman
Ella Merriman is a London-based artist and designer working with the endangered craft of rush basketry. Her work explores the disconnection between humans and nature, drawing on her fascination with plant-human relationships. She combines rush with found objects from London streets, seeking harmony between urban and rural life. Rooted in slow, tactile processes, her practice is guided by intuition and her materials. A Furniture & Product Design graduate (First Class Honours, 2018), she has exhibited across the UK and Europe. In 2024, she received the Worshipful Company of Basketmakers’ Award and has a studio in London.
We Have Forgotten More Than We Remember
Found objects and British rush
2025
A collection of sculptural furniture inspired by nature’s teachings and the rituals of healing. Each piece is created in collaboration with the materials and considers the idea that we have an inner knowing and ancestral memories that can guide us. I have learnt so much from working with natural materials and in many ways see them as my teacher. Rather than educating myself through traditional methods, it has been the process of learning to listen to my intuition when working symbiotically with natural materials that has generated my work.
This collection is a culmination of my thoughts on the connection between humans and plants and how we should value and heed the lessons they have to share with us.
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