Through her intricate creations, Felicia Neuhof is an empathetic storyteller

It takes courage and skill to be in tune with your inner world just as fervently as you are with the one around you, the one beyond your control. In moments of chaos, one’s voice can cut through the noise and discover a heartbeat that’s worth exploring to the fullest. Immersed in an intimate moment, upon fixating on the abundance of discarded shells–perfect calcium carbonate structures tossed after a single use–scattered across her kitchen table post dinner one night, Felicia Neuhof identified a disconnect. Concurrently, an inner desire to rediscover and realign with nature was slowly but surely taking hold. 

And so, Neuhof’s kitchen became her first lab: “What emerged isn’t just a material but a philosophy: our sustainable future lies in recognizing the overlooked potential in what already exists, not just creating new materials. When others see waste, I see the foundation for our built environment,” Neuhof recounts. A handful of years of ascent later, by way of her design venture aptly christened Shellf Life, the winner of the 2024 Terra Carta Design Lab award has grown through her relentless spirit. Devoted to material-driven innovation, the second edition of DesignWanted’s ENHANCE exhibition taking place during Milan Design Week 2025 will highlight the Buoy Stool, Neuhof’s latest arresting design and perhaps her most intricate yet.

At its core, Shellf Life portrays how materials don’t end–they reach a point of transformation instead. Neuhof reflects on how “There’s something profound about taking a material at its ‘end of life’ and revealing its next chapter. Each shell carries history–the ocean it filtered, the restaurant it passed through, the meal it provided.” Through her creations and by seeing opportunity where others see waste, the American designer shapes compassionate tales rooted in rejuvenation.

Growing up on a 15-acre farm with her family in rural Woodstock, Vermont, populated by barely 3,000 people, the RISD graduate shares how “Nature wasn’t something separate from life; it was life itself. What pushed me toward material exploration was witnessing the extremes—rural life where everything gets reused until it falls apart, versus commercial design where perfection is expected but only needs to last hours.” 

As complex and triggering as that juxtaposition may be, when in pursuit of inspiration–and with her studio and manufacturing located at 50 Sims in the Ocean State–the designer chooses to closely inspect and metabolize coastal environments. Her whole face lights up when she picturesquely alludes to the “gradient colorations in tidal zones, the structural and geometrical brilliance of shells, the transformations at the meeting point of elements.”

Buoy was inspired by Rhode Island’s tidal landscapes–that transition from shore to sea. Working in a place with such deep connections to seafood and maritime traditions, Neuhof finds herself “constantly reminded that these colors tell stories about place, ecosystem, and culture. There’s something honest about letting these local materials speak for themselves.”

The Buoy Stool conveys how waste materials can outperform conventional alternatives in unexpected ways. While crafting and perfecting it, the designer found that “adjustments in temperature and processing created distinctive material properties that serve both functional and experiential purposes.” Made entirely of discarded shells, the seat is defined by its dynamic presence and unique plethora of colors.

Neuhof doesn’t add any colorant and describes how “Everything you see comes from the shells themselves. Different species create these distinct tones—oysters have this pearlescent quality, mussels bring in blue-grays, and clams offer warmer tones. The ocean already created this perfect palette.”

What’s become central to the innovator’s approach is how she understands the process of experimentation in her own unique manner and how empathetic towards the materials she works with she inherently is–“Anything that didn’t work for one application could be reincorporated into the next batch. There is no such thing as failure, only material waiting for its next iteration. Embracing the intelligence already present in natural materials rather than forcing predetermined outcomes has become key.”

Neuhof envisions building Shellf Life as an all-encompassing model rather than a studio constrained to a product portfolio. It all stems from who she is as an artist and creator as well as her surroundings: “My architectural training helps me connect the dots between materials, structures, and systems. Rhode Island’s unique ecosystem–where seafood culture, manufacturing heritage, and design innovation intersect–offers the perfect foundation for this vision. I’m establishing my studio and production facility here to create connections between restaurants, coastal communities, and architects in systems that benefit everyone involved.”

Fundamentally, what sets Neuhof apart is her mastery and belief in letting materials tell their intriguing stories. As she poetically marks it out, she sees her role as “more about listening than imposing—understanding what properties and histories already exist, then finding ways to highlight them rather than cover them up.” It makes all the more sense that Shellf Life originates from a moment of clarity at its rawest state.

The unmissable debut of Shellf Life’s Buoy will take place at DesignWanted’s upcoming ENHANCE exhibition during Milan Design Week 2025 at BasicVillage, Via dell’Aprica 12, 20158, Milan, Italy.