Schön! alive | pause

If anyone understands the art of the long dark, it is the Scandinavians. For Copenhagen-based Muuto, the festive season is all about ‘New Nordic’ warmth, a specific kind of tactile minimalism that makes you want to hibernate in style.

Since 2006, the brand set out to bring a fresh and democratic voice to Scandinavian design, working with both young and established designers to reinterpret minimalism as something more tactile and expressive. Muuto’s universe is one of soft geometry, democratic craftsmanship and an insistence on tactility, where every object encourages interaction rather than perfection.

This winter, Muuto is focusing on the architecture of gathering. At the centre of their holiday campaign is a clever piece of industrial design that doubles as an interactive sculpture: the Pair Candleholder.

Designed by Lars Tornøe, the Pair began as a single, extruded X-shape in a rigid, industrial form. But Tornøe’s genius stroke was to slice that X in half, resulting in two distinct pieces that can be nested, stacked or even separated. You can push them together to form the classic X, or pull them apart to create ‘nested waves’ or linear rows. 

“I wanted to challenge the traditional, static layout of four candles,” says Tornøe. “By splitting it into two, the form becomes more expressive. People can use it differently every time.”

Crafted from anodised aluminium in muted tones like black, green and light blue, the Pair Candleholder is essentially a fidget toy for the aesthetically minded who seeks to bring the same creativity to their dinner table.

But a candle needs a stage. Muuto has curated a supporting cast of objects designed to soften the winter edges. The Ridge Vase, designed by Studio Kaksikko, returns in a stunning frosted glass finish. With its dented ridge allowing flowers to stand upright, the new texture mimics the look of frozen water, adding a cool, sculptural element to a holiday table. For a more subtle approach, the Silent Vase offers a timeless, mouth-blown glass vessel that lets the greenery do the talking.

Lighting, of course, is non-negotiable. The Strand Table Lamp by Benjamin Hubert provides the perfect diffused glow. Made from a sprayed cocoon resin material, it looks like a cloud caught on a stand, filtering light to create an atmosphere that is soft, warm and forgiving.

And because real life involves clutter, there is the Restore series by Mika Tolvanen. The Restore Basket and Restore Tray look like soft, woollen felt, but are actually made from recycled plastic bottle fibres. They are the perfect, texture-rich hiding place for everything you want to clear away before the guests arrive.

Discover the holidays catalogue here.

photography. courtesy of Muuto
words. Gennaro Costanzo

Fine porcelain is often treated as a fragile relic, a relic of a time when tables were formal and manners were rigid. Our obsession with innovation keeps us wanting something new, futuristic, so what is exactly the role of a porcelain house that predates the United States? Ginori 1735, a name synonymous with pure Florentine luxury since, well, 1735, is staging a rebellion. The brand, which counts Gucci and Saint Laurent as its Kering-owned stablemates, is stepping away from the shadow of the velvet-roped china cabinet. Its new campaign, ‘The New Table Manners,’ is a manifesto for personal expression, artfully dismantling the dogma of the formal dinner table.

The campaign proposes a new language of hospitality, where “intentional imperfection and spontaneous creativity are celebrated.” It’s a move that reframes the brand’s centuries-old legacy, shifting its exquisite creations from precious heirlooms to active participants in the beautiful mess of real life.

The campaign unfolds as a narrative quartet, an itinerary that transforms everyday customs into moments of personal beauty.

It begins with ‘Back to School,’ a chapter that captures elegance in motion. For this, Ginori champions the sleek, modern lines of the Diva collection, reviving a design icon: the 1954 Colonna collection, originally famous for its stackable functionality and mid-century geometries. Reborn in soft pastels and defined by sophisticated golden contours, the Diva proves that heritage porcelain can be pulled from the cabinet and used daily, whether it’s a quick coffee on the go or a plate resting on a notebook.

As autumn deepens, ‘Thanksgiving’ opens the door to creative tradition. The brand’s most iconic and opulent pattern, Oriente Italiano, is given the spotlight. This vibrant, chinoiserie-inspired floral, with its rich Malachite greens and deep Aurum golds, is shown mixed with unexpected details, encouraging a blend of heritage and impulse.

For Christmas, the lush florals of Oriente Italiano are set against the architectural precision of the Catene (Chains) and Labirinto (Labyrinth) collections. This is where Ginori’s deep design history shines; both of these graphic patterns were originally conceived in the 1920s by the godfather of Italian design, Gio Ponti.

The story culminates on New Year’s Eve with a creative coup. The brand imagines a party where the “new generation” takes the lead. “Young people challenge conventions, rewrite rituals and reinterpret more traditional customs, transforming them into a play of creativity and spontaneity,” Ginori notes. The table is a riot of colour and style, mixing the modernist Catene and Labirinto with bold flashes of Oriente Italiano Rubrum red.

Ginori is making it clear: your table should be a space for creativity, not rules inherited from another era. 

Find out more here.

photography. courtesy of Ginori 1735
words. Gennaro Costanzo

Some objects are designed to be glanced at, while others, like Asprey’s new cameo glass created with Jonathan Harris, demand time. You notice the way colour shifts in the light, how a petal seems to float beneath the surface, and how hours of carving and cutting have been distilled into something deceptively effortless.

Asprey is one of those quintessentially British houses whose history is so vast, it practically defines luxury. Founded in 1781, the London-based institution began life as a silk printing business before evolving into the maker of world-class jewellery, fine art objects and leather goods. It champions excellence, relying on a deep heritage and meticulous craftsmanship to ensure that every piece is genuinely built to become an heirloom.

Harris, one of Britain’s most respected contemporary glass artists, has spent four decades refining the technique of cameo carving. The process is slow, almost stubbornly so: each vase or bowl is mouth-blown, layered with enamel, then meticulously carved back with diamond-point drills until its relief patterns emerge. 

The latest chapter is the Mediterranean Collection, an exclusive collaboration with Asprey that draws directly from the flora of the region. The Mediterranean Hibiscus Vase, limited to just 15 editions, captures the lush hibiscus, oleander and rock roses that edge the coastline. Its counterpart, the Mediterranean Lily Vase, also a 15-piece edition, translates the lily, lupin, myrtle and olive leaves into glass, layering enamel shades that glow as if lit from within. It takes around 70 hours to create one vase and each piece is unique, engraved with its number, signed by Harris, and marked with Asprey branding, with a hidden ‘JH’ tucked into the design for collectors in the know.

Alongside these are pieces inspired by English coastal waters: lead-free glass vases and bowls hand-carved with minute details of sea creatures, rockpools and plant life. The carving itself – achieved with contemporary techniques and diamond tools – creates a relief you can feel as much as see. In some designs, gold leaf flickers between enamel layers.

The collaboration also extends to the Asia Four Seasons and Four Seasons collections, where each vase tells a story through the flora of the year. The Summer Vase brings bellflowers, irises and hydrangeas into bloom on crystalline glass, while the Spring Vase captures the English countryside’s reawakening with carved dandelions, cherry blossoms and even buzzing bumblebees. The Winter Vase, on the other hand, pictures the vibrant essence of the English winter countryside with its dark and smoky hues, while the Autumn Vase features the leaves and acorns of one of the most familiar of British trees, the mighty oak, along with the ladybird. Both series combine traditional cup-casing with contemporary cameo carving, their rich layers of transparent colour painstakingly engraved to create intricate reliefs on both interior and exterior.

Each work is signed and dated, marking it as both a future heirloom and an artistic experiment. As Harris himself notes, his cameo glass for Asprey represents “a bridge between tradition and modernity” – a statement true not only in philosophy but in the physical, arduous process.

Asprey, with its long history of championing exceptional craftsmanship, is doing something genuinely clever here: showing us that a 19th-century technique can still feel like the most thrilling thing in the room.

Discover the Asprey x Jonathan Harris collections here.

still life photography. Candice Lake
words. Gennaro Costanzo