Beaconhills College graduate Owen Whitcher has earned a design award for an innovative project he created in his VCE Product Design and Technology subject.
Owen’s bonsai plant stand will go on display at the Melbourne Museum in April in the Top Designs 2026 exhibition. Top Designs is an annual event which is part of the VCE Season of Excellence, celebrating Victoria’s top student designers from the Class of 2025.
Owen’s observations about society’s declining mental health sparked the idea for his bonsai plant stand.
The product combines lighting, horticultural and sustainable features along with a magnetic compartment for phone storage.
Owen said the idea was to bring some horticultural therapy into the bedroom and provide a mental health outlet.
“At the start of the year I had to brainstorm problems that I had to solve…and the problem I saw that was central to society was mental health decline,” Owen said.
When he was developing the product, he combined both traditional and new and emerging technologies such as CAD software, laser cutting and 3D printing.
Owen attended Beaconhills College’s Berwick Campus. This year, he begins a double degree in Engineering and Industrial Design at Monash University and hopes to become a product design engineer.
– Top Designs 2026 runs at the Melbourne Museum, Carlton, from Saturday 11 April until Sunday 26 July from 9am to 5pm daily
