Intricate networks develop in darkness
Each twist, knot, and tendril is a living connection that anchors and supports life.
Rootfull is a creative studio guiding plant root, as it grows.
The roots are living threads that weave themselves through hand-carved beeswax templates, like yarn on a loom. They stretch, twist, and anchor to one another to form unique materials.
What emerges is an ongoing dialogue with nature, a meditation on time, growth, and transformation that invites a closer look at the infinitely renewable power of plants and our relationship to the Earth.
Founded by an underwater photographer
Zena Holloway is a bio-designer, maker and the founder of Rootfull. For over 25 years, she's worked as an underwater photographer and director, featuring in publications including National Geographic, GQ, and The Sunday Times as well as creating global campaigns for clients such as Nike, Pepsi, Speedo, Sony and Greenpeace.
Through her work, she's seen the impact of environmental damage on our oceans firsthand, from coral bleaching to plastic pollution. This sparked a curiosity in material science which led to research in to bio-design. She built a fungarium in her basement to experiment with mycelium and a year later encountered the intricate root system of a willow tree in her local river:
What if we could guide plant roots, as they grow, to weave beautiful, ethical and responsible materials?
This idea became the foundation for Rootfull.
Since 2018, Holloway has been bio-fabricating grass root materials and leans on her background to create pieces that echo the forms and textures of marine life.
“It’s an interplay of craft, design, sustainability, chemistry and horticulture - fusing disciplines that would otherwise remain separated”
AWARDS
Sculptural Installation at Messums (2025)
Creative Catalyst Programme, UK Innovate (2024)
Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal (2024)
QEST Scholarship (2024)
Surface Design Show finalist (2024)
Chelsea Flower Show Silver Medal (2023)
Aesthetica Art Prize (2022)
Green Concept Award (2022)
Toast rewilding competition (2021)
supported by
SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS
2025 Oceans Rising, Space House, London WC2, 17 Sept - 20 Sept
2025 Future Fabrics Expo 24 & 25th June 2025
2025 First Light Festival Lowestoft Beach, 21 & 22 June
2025 Messums West 24th May - 15th June
2025 Tom Faulkner 19th - 31st May, Belgravia in Bloom, Pimlico, London
2025 Garden Futures: Designing with Nature 17th May 2025 - 25th January 2026, V&A
2025 Shifting Matter 14th-28th May, Roca Tile Studio NYCxDESIGN
2024 Heals, Festival of Light 7th-27th October, Tottenham Ct Rd, London
2024 Material Matters 18th- 21st September, London Design Festival, Oxo Tower
2024 Homo Faber 2024 1st-30th September, Venice, Italy
2024 Forum Arte Braga, 06.07.24 - 15.09.24, Braga, Portugal
2024 Future Fabrics Expo, 25 & 26th June, Magazine, London
2024 Ocean Talks by Boat International 6th June 2024, Serpentine Gallery, London
2023 Formed X Future Heritage 9th - 13th October 2023, Chelsea, London
2023 de le Cuona for London Craft Week, Belgravia, London
2023 Collect Craft Fair, Somerset House, London
2023 Gallery 57 ‘Earth Materials’, West Sussex, UK
2022 Ground Work Gallery ‘Deepwater’, Norfolk, UK
2022 Material Matters for London Design Festival, Oxo Tower, UK
2022 YKSI Expo & BioArt Laboratories for DDW, Netherlands
2022 Milan Design Week – Root dress, Italy
2022 Raw Assembly – Root dress, Melbourne, Australia
2022 Culture Sphere Gallery – Root sculpture, Germany
2021 Toast Rewilding Exhibit – Root sculpture, London
