dean verhoeven

dean's work at ulumulu design Here are a few of my designs for ulumulu.

floating orb reading light

The Floating Orb Reading Light glides into position at a touch, delivering light exactly where needed to make reading or task work a pleasure. Aluminum, vitreous enamel, carbon fiber, biodegradable plastic.

Prototype made in the ulumulu studio. Winner of the ISFD Pinnacle award October, 2025. Available for licensing.

loop tissue dispenser

The ulumulu loop was designed as an alternative to the standard tissue box, replacing disposable cardboard with a sculptural form crafted from luxurious materials: cellulose acetate, a bioplastic derived from wood or cotton cellulose used in luxury eyewear, and polished nickel silver disks coated in vitreous enamel.

Its sculptural presence and bright colors add a spot of beauty and joy to interior spaces, transforming a functional object into an uplifting design element. Designed for everyday use, the ulumulu loop has a natural heft and cushioning base, giving it stability and allowing effortless, one-handed dispensing.

Crafted by hand in ulumulu's Wake Forest, NC studio and currently available for sale.

auto-adaptive festival chair

This chair is design study to answer the question "what is it like to sit in a chair that supports one's back with perfect uniformity?" The back of this chair has a simple mechanism that adapts in real time to the shape of the sitter’s back. By design it always provides perfectly uniform support, without springs or cushioning. The back support elements are hard maple, but the support distribution mechanism makes it very comfortable to sit in for long periods.

Prototype made in the ulumulu studio. Finalist in the ISFD Innovation and Design competition 2022. Available for licensing.

toaster tongs one

My passion is taking a fresh, designer’s-eye look at the everyday household tools and objects that surround us. How could they be made more beautiful and a greater pleasure to use so that they elevate our day-to-day with a bit of joy?

These tongs are designed and made to maximize form, function and soul. The smooth, warm, shapely bamboo feels lovely in your hand, and they give better ergonomic control than normal tongs because of their design. Their pivot is turned 90° from the customary orientation, improving their function in several ways. Most notably their gripping power does not depend on where along their length you hold them. With a normal pair of tongs, the hold on your toast decreases the deeper the toast in the toaster, as your grip nears the pivot of the tongs. This re-orientation of the pivot is a noticeably pleasant improvement in ease of use.

Made in ulumulu's Wake Forest, NC studio of bamboo grown locally, woven elastic cord and a decorative dot of vitreous enamel on copper. Currently available for sale.