Brussels-based designer Ori Orisun Merhav heats and blows shellac, the resin secreted by tiny Kerria lacca insects onto tree branches, into clusters of translucent amber bubbles that perch on branching steel frames or hang as chandeliers. Usually relegated to a wood finish, the polymer becomes a building material in her research practice Made by Insects, which is now pushing into 3D printing and large-scale installations. The work earned her a 2026 Dutch Design Award and proposes a multispecies model of manufacturing. Source: designboom