The Wild Allegory of Merite’s Elemental Icons
Our three elemental icons—Datin, Marcellus, and Wira—each embody a vital force of the natural world: air, water, and land. Through their distinct personalities and symbolic presence, they remind us that great design must be in dialogue with the planet—not only reflecting its beauty, but also respecting its boundaries.
They are not just decorations, but guardians of a deeper belief: that creativity must be conscious, and that style and sustainability are not mutually exclusive.
Woven into our furniture, murals, and brand DNA, they serve as playful yet poignant reminders that design is not only about aesthetics, but about harmony, imagination, and the spirit of the wild. Together, they personify the Merite ethos: expressive, layered, and alive with meaning.
Datin
The Parrot of Colour and Conversation
She talks. A lot. Not in the mindless chatter kind of way, but in the way storytellers do. Datin knows where each piece came from, who once loved it, what it might have seen in its lifetime. She remembers everything—fabrics, wallpapers, even paint shades long discontinued. She often jokes that if the furniture could speak, it would have accents from all over the world.
She is also deeply mindful of the energy in a room. She often flits from one corner to another, fluffing a cushion here, nudging a vase there, reminding the Merite team that design is not about perfection—it’s about presence. To Datin, each object has a spirit, and it’s her job to make sure they all get along.
She is, after all, a creature of air—drawn to light, lifted by movement, and attuned to the invisible atmospheres we often overlook. Her presence carries breeze-like clarity: refreshing, restless, full of possibility. In her world, air isn’t empty—it’s alive with memory, intuition, and the promise of transformation.
Above all, she’s a celebrator of life. Loud, flamboyant, charmingly dramatic, Datin is Merite’s reminder that colour is not a risk—it’s a right.
Marcellus
The Genius Octopus Beneath the Surface
With eight arms and one massive brain, Marcellus is a maestro of form and function. His mind is always moving, exploring new textures, techniques, and transformations. One moment, he’s redesigning a mid-century modern chair with Indonesian batik upholstery. The next, he’s sketching biomorphic coffee tables inspired by coral formations and jungle vines.
He is playful—always curious, always experimenting. He believes that intelligence is best expressed through joy, and elegance doesn’t have to be cold.
Marcellus is, after all, a creature of water—fluid, intuitive, and deeply attuned to the emotional undercurrents of design. His ideas ripple through the studio like tide and current, shaping projects in subtle yet powerful ways. Water gives him his grace, his depth, and his talent for transformation—forever moving, never static, always evolving.
He is the embodiment of design that is thoughtful, surprising, and rooted in mastery. Marcellus reminds us that there’s beauty in the unseen, power in the playful, and genius in the generous act of creating spaces that inspire.
Wira
The Guardian Tiger of Soulful Living
Unlike Datin’s chatter or Marcellus’s kinetic flair, Wira is grounded. He speaks in principles—craftsmanship, authenticity, respect for materials. He is fiercely protective of the environment, often intervening when something feels wasteful or unnecessary. To him, nothing is truly sustainable without reverence—for the earth, for heritage, for process.
Wira is, at his core, a creature of land—rooted, resilient, and connected to the histories held within soil, timber, and stone. He understands the language of materials and the legacy they carry. Land gives him gravity and grace—a sense of permanence in a world obsessed with speed. Through him, Merite’s designs stay anchored in meaning, even as they push creative boundaries.
Yet, Wira is not austere. He wears stripes of fuchsia and teal. His eyes glow with amber mischief. Like all Merite icons, he loves a little drama. Wira reminds us that the most powerful designs are those rooted in care—care for place, people, and the spirit of what came before.