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Merel Slootheer (The Netherlands) is a dreamer, maker, designer, goldsmith, collector, biophile. In 2004 she received her diploma for goldsmith after a four-year traditional craft training. After that she studied at the designLAB department of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. In 2011 she received her Bachelor of Design diploma there. She followed both studies in Amsterdam.

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'With my work I try to make sense of things I don’t understand and question what might be considered obvious. I approach the creative process as I would extensive research and translate my findings into all sorts of creations. Artifacts, jewelry, writings, prints and more. I love combining traditional craft with contemporary technology, mixing the conventional with experimental. As a tireless collector of everything I consider beautiful, I see trash and discarded stuff as an exciting category of raw material. 

Precious or common, either obviously valuable or secretly amazing, wanting to know all about their qualities, strength, limitations makes material interesting to me.

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Why, when, and how do we bring (even more) stuff into this overstuffed world? My work derives from an inner drive to create, but I always take into account the demand for an item before producing more than a few.'