I wanted to make an object that could communicate balance and movement without needing instructions. I kept coming back to the way a drying leaf curves, loses its shape and falls, and used that behaviour as a starting point rather than trying to copy the leaf itself. The first forms were either too symmetrical or simply too unstable, so I kept changing them until the asymmetry started to create its own movement. The result was a form that naturally wants to roll and be interacted with.
I started with physical studies to understand how the form behaved before deciding what it should be made from. Balsa wood became the most useful material because it was light enough to float while still giving me enough control over the structure. I shaped it with hot water and a custom mould to create the curved profile. I also wanted the movement to have another layer, so I added a glass element filled with plastic beads. When the object rolls, the beads move inside it and create sound.
Folia is a lightweight object inspired by the movement of a drying leaf. It combines a curved balsa wood structure with a central glass element and is designed to float on water, roll naturally and make sound as it moves. The object became less about explaining a concept and more about letting someone discover it through movement, touch and sound.
