CANDY

A visit to the candy shop

CANDY began with the sofa tables and side tables, developed for Ich und Du, an exhibition by the Berlin design collective MATTER of COURSE during Milan Design Week in June 2022. Curated by Anna Carnick and Wava Carpenter of Anava Projects, the exhibition explored the relationship between ourselves and others.

For Friederike, this became a question of shared childhood memories. Candy canes, lollipops and the excitement of choosing something from a sweet shop are familiar to many people, even if they grew up in different places. A colour or a striped pattern can bring back a memory, sometimes before we quite know what it reminds us of.

CANDY grew out of the wish to bring some of that pleasure into the home. Sweets became the starting point for furniture and everyday objects, with rounded forms and stripes translated into glass.

Stripes in glass

The collection is made in Germany in collaboration with glassmaker Torsten Rötzsch. The stripes are part of the glass itself, made using a traditional Venetian glassmaking technique in which coloured glass is worked into the piece while hot.

After blowing and cooling, the pieces travel to Petr Slavík in Nový Bor, a town with a long glassmaking history in the Czech Republic, where he cuts and grinds them.

For Friederike, the connection between glass and sweets is part of the fascination. Both can be translucent or opaque, brightly coloured, striped, twisted and shaped while hot. In CANDY, the familiar appearance of a sweet becomes something to live with for a little longer.

From side tables to mirrors and coat hooks

After the sofa tables and side tables came the mirrors, followed most recently by the coat hooks. The mirrors are framed by twisted glass that recalls the striped sugar sticks found in a candy shop. The same references appear at different scales, from a striped tabletop to a small glass form on the wall.

Each object has a use, but the idea of bringing a little of the candy shop into the home runs through the whole collection. Somewhere to put a cup, catch your reflection or hang a coat, with a reminder of something simply enjoyable.

A coat hook brings a splash of colour to the hallway, a towel hook to the bathroom, and a candy cane mirror becomes a statement piece in the living room.

The collection is still growing, with CANDY lights coming next.