We Love This: April 2022

In Scandinavia, Easter is marked by a slew of charming but idiosyncratic customs. Norwegians go skiing, Greenlanders go to the fjord and Swedes go to the summer house. Finns decorate willow branches and Danes exchange anonymous, handmade greetings cards. Distilled, they come down to this: saying farewell to darkness, embracing spring’s new life, and feasting like a king. So, here are our design picks to bring light, greenery and dinner-table cheer to your Easter.

Stockholm-based designer Kunsik Choi created the arresting Ihop Glass Vase as an homage to a ‘mystical’ glassblowing atelier he stumbled upon in southern Sweden. “The way the craftsmen handled the softened glass and shaped it with their breath was divine,” recalls Choi. ‘Ihop’ means ‘together’ in Swedish, and the vase accordingly marries two conflicting shapes and techniques: a cylindrical, moulded base and a ballooning, hand-blown neck. “Two forms become one, each emphasising the other,” says Choi.
Ihop Glass Vase by Kunsik Choi, €195
www.kunsik.com

Another Finnish custom is to burn bonfires to ward off witches and evil spirits. Light your own mini bonfire with Swedish design studio Lith Lith Lundin’s exquisite Dawn tealight holder, made of charred birch wood. Its weighty look is both grounded and graceful, and every piece is unique. Lith Lith Lundin sources and manufactures every design within a 50-kilometre radius of Torsåker – a petite rural parish steeped in ancient Pagan history.
Dawn Candleholder by Lith Lith Lundin, €62
www.lithlithlundin.se

Finland’s Easter traditions are rooted in Russian Orthodox rituals, in which willow branches – the north’s answer to palm – are decorated on Palm Sunday. In her line of folk-chic pendant lamps, Finnish designer Maija Puoskari finds a playful, functional approach to bringing willow – and a little fantasy – into the home. The Hiippa lamp series, with lightshades of turned willow wood and a willow-root ‘stem’ that is pulled to switch the light on, is inspired by Finland’s “undisturbed forest and the tiny mushrooms that grow there”.
Hiippa Lighting by Maija Puoskari, from €2,200
www.adorno.design

In Scandinavia, the Easter feast is punctuated by shots of fiery schnapps. They’re a mark of respect and camaraderie. Whether you prefer an ice-cold Danish akvavit or the Swedish brännvin or vodka, the stately Glass Leopard Bottle by Madam Stolz, crafted on the Danish island of Bornholm, will add finesse to the whole affair. The pattern and dark mahogany tones pay homage to mid-century Danish glassware, while the voluptuous form references art-deco. If you’re going to serve snaps, do it with panache.
Glass Leopard Bottle by Madam Stoltz, €43.50
www.madamstoltz.dk

Inspired by the space where digital and physical artforms meet, Swedish atelier Wang & Söderström creates sculptural vases that double up as objets d’art. First, 3D designs are used to build models, which are then moulded in porcelain and stoneware at a local ceramic workshop. In an imaginative range of organic-looking designs and colours, they breathe fresh air into displaying spring’s first flora in any interior context.
Vase by Wang & Söderström for Hay, from €79
www.hay.dk

Danish label Rosendahl believes the everyday can be beautiful. Easter brunch – which turns an ordinary ritual into a ceremony – is grounded in the same thought. Bring a little poetry to your brunch with the Hammerhøi Poppy series: the bonbonniere is perfect for hiding Easter eggs, while the matching eggcups complete the set. Watercolour artist Rikke Jacobsen painted the floral motifs in varying stages of bloom to capture the idea of ‘budding’ – “as when a new day starts at the breakfast table”.
Rosendahl Hammerhøi Poppy bonbonniere, €47
Rosendahl Hammerhøi Poppy eggcups, two for €31
www.rosendahl.com