About
Heike Buchfelder
Heike Buchfelder is a Berlin-based designer whose work explores the sensorial and sculptural qualities of materials. With a background in architecture from the Berlin University of the Arts and further studies at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, her approach is grounded in spatial thinking and combines this with an intuitive sensitivity to the physical presence of materials. In 2005, she established pluma cubic, a studio that creates light objects made from meticulously arranged natural goose and rooster feathers, capturing the beauty of this material in sculptural form.
Buchfelder’s practice has since expanded into broader material investigations. In recent years, she has shifted her focus to glass and paper, creating one-off pieces and small series that explore transparency, opacity, and the interplay of colour and structure.
In 2025, Buchfelder marked a new chapter with the transition from the label pluma cubic to working solely under her own name—reflecting a more open and fluid practice. Her practice is guided by a fascination for materials’ versatility and a penchant for crafting them into unexpected compositions. By looking far beyond the constraints of their traditionally intended functions and exploring their further potential, her resulting objects break exciting ground in the world of contemporary craft and design.
Her collections comprise a combination of an exclusive handmade series and unique pieces.
Her work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as Marta Herford Museum, Germany, Winterthur Trade Museum Swiss, Moss NY, US.
She is also a co-founder of MATTER of COURSE, a collective of Berlin-based designers.
Balancing Act at Friends of Friends 2021
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
– Movimento Gallery, The Blue Flower, Villa Olmo, Lake Como Design Festival, Como
– Movimento Gallery, Merging and Emerging, Milan Designweek, Milan
– 5VIE, ICH und DU, curated by Anava Projects, supported by Dr. Hauschka, Milan Designweek, Milan
– Friends Space, BALANCING ACTS with MATTERofCOURSE, curated by Anava Projects, Berlin
– FeldbuschWiesnerRudolph, Art Gallery, CREATIVE INTERSECTION – a guest curation by Wolfgang Flad, aiming to highlight the creative intersections between sculpture and design, Berlin
– Museum of Arts and Crafts Winterthur, Federn – wärmen, verführen, fliegen Multifunctionality of the feather and its current meaning in design, art and pop culture, Winterthur
– Aptm, German design, what is that?, Berlin/ Brunnen190, Berlin
– Projektraum Brunnen190, Contemporary Design, Berlin
– SELECTED GRAZ Out of the frame, Neue Galerie, Graz
– Palazzo Michiel, Venice Design, Venedig
– ICFF New York + Deutscher Pavillon at Beijing Design Week Handmade in Germany World Tour
– Biennale Interieur, THE WALL- Nieuwe German Gestaltung #004, Kortrijk curated by Max Borka
– Diet Gallery, AUS BERLIN, Design Miami District, Miami
– Ventura Lambrate + Design Festival Berlin INSTANT STORIES BERLIN, Berlin, Milan
– IMM Cologne, THE BLACK BATH Living Spaces, Cologne
– Gallery Yasmine Benhadj-Djiali, OFF CUT, Berlin- Seoul Design Fair, Overseas Design, Seoul
– Metropolitan Design Center, Material Issues, Buenos Aires
– MARTa Museum, Nullpunkt. Nieuwe German Gestaltung, curated by Max Borka, Herford
– Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin, 20 Jahre Kreativmetropole Berlin, Berlin
– Made in Berlin at Salone del Mobile, Milan and Berlin Design Week
– Draywalk Gallery, London
– Shanghai Int. Creative Industry Week (SICIW), Creative Spree, Shanghai
– RED Moscow, Best of Berlin, Moskow
– MOSS Gallery, Never Felt Before – Claudy Jongstra x Heike Buchfelder, New York
– ARTORT, Köln