Lelia Zhvirblis is the cofounder of Tildita and a designer with a background in urban research and observing how people live, move, and interact with space.

After many years of working with cities, public space, everyday routes and human behaviour, her focus gradually shifted toward objects and domestic environments. Becoming a mother added another layer to this interest: how children and adults share space, how objects become part of everyday life, and how design can be playful without becoming disposable or visually separate from the rest of the home.

Her object design practice is based exclusively on natural materials. She works with wool, cotton, clay and paper, alongside materials that can be grown rather than conventionally manufactured, including mycelium, scoby and plant roots. Her interest in biomaterials developed through studies in biological sciences at the University of Amsterdam and hands-on training in biomaterial experimentation at Waag Futurelab.

At Tildita, Lelia combines a research-driven approach with material experimentation and a more intuitive artistic language. Maps, landscapes, animals, biological processes and the behaviour of materials themselves become starting points for rugs, lighting and other domestic objects. Some are woven, some are shaped, and some are grown.