A conversation between: Jim Biddulph & Simone van Es

It may sound like a bold statement to suggest that one exhibition could have been a standout event at both this year’s Milan Design Week and last year’s Dutch Design Week. But those lucky enough to see ROOTS Exhibition at either (or better still, both) witnessed a unique showing, with biobased design and circularity at its core.

The continually evolving showcase is the brainchild of Dutch designer Simone van Es, winner of the Masterly Award 2025 for Best Presentation at the Dutch showing during Milan, Masterly (in case you needed further proof of its virtue). Her own biobased material developments include Silphy, a toxin-free, water-resistant and biodegradable building material produced from bee-friendly crop, Silphium Perforliatum. The ROOTS Foundation is a platform for like-minded Dutch Designers who engage with bio and circular processes, who are intent on inspiring others to consider “why’ and ‘how’ they can contribute to help recover their precious Dutch Soil.”

I had a chat with Simone to find out more about the collective, how it all started, and what we can expect to see in the future from the team.

JB: The ever-evolving ROOTS exhibition is a wonderful mix of innovation and education around biobased design and circularity, and I’m intrigued to hear about your journey of forming it. Where did it all start for you? 

SvE: From 2023, I started focusing on my (almost embarrassing) professional footprint in a high-end market, and decided it was time to work on it. My goal was to significantly reduce CO2, use more locally produced materials, less waste and integrate more bio-based and circular building materials for a healthier living and working environment.

In order to connect to a new audience and clientele with different ‘green’ perspectives, I produced a project called House of Dreams for ConverseArchitects (where I used to be Head of Interior Design). This installation was presented at Dutch Design Week in 2023 and explored the bedroom of the future. The project stood as a counterpoint to AI-driven design, advocating awareness for locally harvested materials and reconnection with nature. The place of rest, being pure and where one can dream for one’s self – not shared as a summary by AI the next morning. All very analogue, not digital.

JB: Is it here that your own material development using a local crop began to take shape?

SvE: To learn more about plant-based materials, I participated in the Blue City Rotterdam Circular Challenge, Crop Edition between December ‘23 and January ‘24. During these six weeks, I developed a building material and product design from the crop Silphium Perforliatum (Cupplant). After 2 weeks, my team came up with a water-resistant sheet material that was 100% made out of this fibre crop. At the same time, I learned so much ‘outside the lab’ in the field of our Silphy farmer, Jan Versluis. One knows nature is in great despair, but once you see it – you stand in a field of dead land where all soil life is gone – it just hits you hard. After this, I found the urge to spread this urgent and actual ecological message with a broader audience. I wanted to convince as many of my colleagues and designers to start designing differently – to look at their professional footprints and take responsibility by choosing different materials etc. This is why and when I decided to create a podium for it and founded Roots Foundation and Roots Exhibition Milano.

JB: And so you took the exhibition to one of the world’s leading design events! Was it difficult to catch people’s attention among the glitz, glamour and sheer scale of the show? How did that affect your next moves?

SvE: The first Milano 2024 try-out exhibition was a great success with 80,000 visitors in ‘our Palazzo’ and many heartwarming responses from around the world. People thanking and praising us for bringing real content to Milano Design Week.

That gave us the momentum to exhibit at Dutch Design Week in October 2024, with Silpy in the Spotlight. Collaborating with bee-artist Tomás Libertiny and top designer Piet Hein Eek, we presented the prototype of the Stackable Stool Piet designed (and included in his collection) specially for us. It was great to not only to show beautiful design, but especially to highlight the urgency and importance of growing perennial fibre crops like Silphium Perforliatum. It does so much for soil health, biodiversity, CO2 capture, ad helping pollinators like insects, birds etc.)

JB: I heard really positive things about this years showing at Milan too. How did the show evolve this time around?

SvE: This time, for our April 2025 Milano exhibition, I had 1 year of preparation time, instead of two months like last year!

ROOTS has grown into a collective movement. A community where artists, designers, makers, farmers and companies come together to reconnect with the land and rethink materials, health and landscapes.

Dialogue and connection are at the heart of ROOTS Exhibition. Through our Table Talks — conversations that bring together diverse voices — we exchange ideas, share knowledge and nurture collaboration. At our Last Supper Table during Salone del Mobile, these dialogues sparked reflections on regenerative design, craftsmanship and the future of soil and materials. We’ve shown that collaboration amplifies impact. ROOTS is not just an exhibition, it is a growing network of regenerative design, craftsmanship, and innovation.

JB: I noticed that you have expressed a desire to encourage reflection and dialogue surrounding the theme of sustainability and ecological responsibility, and I’m interested to hear about the responses you picked up from the event.

SvE: They were heartwarming, with responses from all over the world. Big names, small names, architects, designers, journalists, trend forecasters, CEO of big companies, manufacturers etc. All so happy to see real content at the Milano Design Week. People spent literally hours in our space, instead of ‘running’ through it, journalists included. Talking, exploring, learning… Our goal was achieved!

I invested much time in the presentation, and all participants made beautiful tailor and handmade pieces, and that was all about showing and reflecting. They all sat upon an impressive 12m long table, the Last Supper Table, which was made from seaweed, compost and grass. It showcased our ‘Different Perspective’ and we were happy to receive so many compliments that week, it was simply amazing and slightly overwhelming. It made us proud and cheerful. The team was unified and worked just magically together. I am happy I spent many hours on making the right mix of participants (including the character of people behind the brands). I had to turn down some amazing projects because of that, but the people made the difference! The audience even said so many times: “what a great atmosphere here, we feel so welcome and we are well informed in depth.”

The table talks were essential. This also gave the audience a chance to participate and learn. Because we spent the entire time ‘explaining’, sharing and reflecting on what was showcased. Once people learned about the material, interest was created, followed by immediate desire and action to start designing differently… Goal achieved!

JB: Were there any highlights in terms of the work you selected and displayed this year?

SvE: With 30 participants, it is hard to choose the highlights, because they are all new, special, circular and bio-based. From a table made out of seaweed, to circular tableware, recycled concrete, materials made by insects, or plant and sea weed based dyes, wool, flax, jewellery from waste metals, organic perfume based on bacteria from the deep sea, and art from soil and roots… the list is so extensive and varied!

JB: You’ve been so busy and prolific over the last couple of years, will you have a break, or is there more to come?

SvE: We’ve had many requests for Design Weeks around the world including in London, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris and Miami. With the right funding, we are making this happen! I will also be introducing a new piece of furniture, LC Ottoman, for LOADS Collection. I’ll be working alongside Claudy Longstra to source Demeter Certified dyes for the SEKEM cotton from her biodynamic farming and using plant-based sheet material for the framework.

I am also working on a new collaboration with architect/designer Aga Blonska and 3D Makers Zone. We’ll be introducing an advanced printed light object, New Dawn, crafted from a new biopolymer polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). The are a family of biopolymers produced by microorganisms through the fermentation of sugars or lipids. Unlike other bio-based materials such as PLA, which degrade only under specific conditions, PHA is fully compostable in any natural environment. This positions the material as a significant step forward in the transition to a circular economy.