As a little girl, Helle Mardahl had dreamed of opening a candy store one day.

So far, the designer hasn't gotten that far - but she was inspired by the candy shops of her childhood days in Copenhagen: With glass vases, bowls, spoons and candy-colored lights that are reminiscent of chewing gum bubbles and jelly beans.

Johanna Christner

Editor in the section “Germany and the World”.

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One of her more recent creations: The collection called “Cocktail Cream Tea”, which takes up the British afternoon tea tradition and contains pastel-colored plates, cake platters and drinking glasses with a frosting-glaze look in addition to vessels.

Art, says Mardahl, must be able to feel it, almost taste it.

With her art, however, she wants to create not only aesthetic but also functional objects.

And functionality plays a major role for Mardahl.

Your candy jars with lids that shimmer in the light, for example, can also be converted into vases without further ado.

Each piece is unique: hand-blown and manufactured in European factories.

Helle Mardahl initially let her creativity run free in the fashion industry.

After graduating from Central Saint Martins College in London in 2001, she was quickly recognized as a talented representative of Scandinavian fashion and was often compared to the renowned Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov.

At some point, however, the Danish born in 1976 got tired of the fast-paced fashion world;

the trends that come and go again after a season.

From the fashion industry to product design

In product design, on the other hand, she found a new purpose, creating for Smart, the Danish furniture store Muuto and Stine Goya, but above all for her own Copenhagen-based studio. As a multidisciplinary artist, Mardahl also creates sculptures and paintings, but in recent times she has been particularly enthusiastic about her glass creations, which adorn the home of supermodel Claudia Schiffer and which have become a real hype among Instagram users.

Mardahl's creative phase with glass began in 2009, when she teamed up with a glass blower for an installation and was fascinated by the work process. Despite the fragile nature of glass, it gave the artist the desired longevity for her works and thus became the material of her choice. Her fascination continues to this day: Helle Mardahl is still inspired and reassured to watch YouTube videos of glassblowers at work. And who knows, maybe she'll open a candy store in Copenhagen one day.