Gentle isn’t solely what you see; in a single shift, it will possibly carry you from the quiet radiance of the midnight solar to the intimacy of winter days. And maybe it’s this very poetic concept that has sparked a brand new collaboration between Nordic design homes Iittala and Byredo, giving rise to Ljus (which means ‘mild’ in Swedish): a limited-edition assortment of glass objects exploring mild and scent.
Whereas Byredo, the Swedish perfume and wonder model, has constructed its identify on creativity and timeless objects that resonate deeply in folks’s lives, the Finnish Iittala stands for useful, enduring glassmaking, rooted in materials integrity and craft; collectively, their sensorial suite of items is making a conceptual debut at Matter and Form in Paris.
Byredo meets Iittala: the Ljus assortment
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Iittala)
‘The method was a real dialogue between the 2 manufacturers,’ shares Janni Vepsäläinen, artistic director at Iittala. ‘For Byredo, scent creates ambiance, one thing spatial and architectural. For us, glass is the medium by means of which mild and idea take kind.’
Glass is a very eloquent medium; one which interprets the expressions and shifting qualities of sunshine with quiet drama, virtually embodying a rigidity between fireplace and ice. Provides Vepsäläinen: ‘We started with the inherent duality of glass. It’s born from fireplace – from excessive warmth and fixed motion – but it usually seems cool, fragile, virtually like ice suspended in time. That transformation, from liquid depth to frozen readability, turned the poetic basis of Ljus. As two Nordic manufacturers, we share the identical northern sky; its shifting tones, its readability, its quiet depth. The distinctive high quality of Nordic mild, particularly in winter, feels virtually sculptural in itself. With Ljus, that mild turns into materials and expertise.’
The trade between Byredo and Iittala can also be anchored in a shared respect for craftsmanship. Made at Iittala’s historic manufacturing facility in Finland, each piece within the Ljus assortment is fashioned by generations of expert makers who coax molten glass into being by means of warmth and human contact. Minute shifts in kind and floor are inevitable, and it’s exactly these delicate imperfections that turn out to be the gathering’s quiet signatures.
Inside these refined vessels, Byredo’s candles and incense learn virtually like small sculptures. ‘The 2 supplies – scent and glass – complement each other by means of materiality, spatial layering, and emotional depth. It turned a dialog between warmth and solidity, diffusion and containment, lightness and weight.’
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Iittala)
The detailed processes apart, there have been sensible constraints when bringing glass and flame collectively. ‘Gravity, warmth, the thickness of the glass – these are bodily realities that form the end result,’ explains Vepsäläinen. ‘However fairly than limiting the method, these constraints turned poetic components. There’s a delicate sense of movement captured in a stable kind. On the identical time, the proportions and silhouette have been influenced by the presence of the flame: the way it diffuses, the way it displays, the way it lives inside the glass.’
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Iittala)
For his or her presentation at Matter and Form, the manufacturers have been eager to maneuver past the acquainted language of a product show. As an alternative, they’ve conceived a concept-led, multisensory examine of sunshine, glass, ritual and materiality – one that permits ambiance to take the lead. ‘The items are given area,’ states Vepsäläinen. ‘We wish the viewer not solely to see the shape, however to really feel the interplay – how the glass reacts to the flame, how reflections transfer, how the ambiance adjustments. The presentation is conversational, poetic, and experiential, inviting folks right into a second formed by mild, materials, and time.’
The total Ljus assortment will launch globally in October 2026, obtainable from Byredo in addition to chosen Iittala shops and e-commerce.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Iittala)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Iittala)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Iittala)
Supply: Wallpaper
