<p dir="ltr"><span>Bold prints, deformed glass, and instinctual design reveal a world where joy, craft, and personality coexist in every object.</span></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PHOTOGRAPHY </strong>Max VM</p>
<p>On a snowy Friday afternoon in Copenhagen, Helle&nbsp;<span>Mardahl opened the doors to her showroom dressed in color with intention. Prints layered freely, red lipstick&nbsp;</span><span>unwavering, her presence echoed the glass around her: playful, distorted, unapologetically alive. Inside, candy-like vases and lamps leaned and shimmered, rejecting symmetry in favor&nbsp;of feeling. </span></p>
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<p><span>Trained in fashion at Central Saint Martins and shaped&nbsp;by a generation of boundary-pushing Scandinavian designers, Mardahl moved from textiles to molten glass, slowing her process and deepening her language. What emerged is not a rejection of Scandinavian restraint, but a personal rewrite of it—one where joy, imperfection, and emotion are treated as serious design values. </span></p>
<p><span>As her vision expands toward a living atelier, Mardahl continues to design from instinct, asking not what is expected, but what feels necessary. </span></p>
<p><span>For Mardahl, joy is not decorative—it is structural. It informs how she selects color, balances form, and considers the emotional afterlife of an object in someone’s home. Behind the gloss and exuberance lies discipline. “The challenge,” she says, “is tension.” </span></p>
<p><span>That tension runs through her entire practice. Like her glass, her wardrobe resists anonymity. Both are self-authored. Her father, an inspiring creator whose world was defined by white walls and matte surfaces, shaped her early understanding of proportion&nbsp;and restraint. “We were different in expression,” she reflects. “I work with color, gloss, and emotion. But the foundation is similar. There’s still simplicity and discipline beneath my universe.” If anything, her embrace of emotion became a quiet rebellion. </span></p>
<p><span>It was also this search for a more lasting language that led her away from fashion. Fashion moves quickly—seasonal, responsive, often disposable. Glass demands patience. Where fashion responds to momentum, glass resists it. The shift was not an abandonment but a refinement. It was there she realized fashion was not her final language. She moved into art, and eventually returned to design with a different intention: to create lasting objects rather than seasonal ones. Ambition remains, but it is now anchored in permanence. </span></p>
<p><span>When she discovered glass, she was struck by its sweetness—its almost edible quality. Distortion, in her hands, becomes sincerity. </span></p>
<p><span>Honesty is her anchor. Joy is her discipline. Imperfection is her truth. </span></p>
<p><span>Inside Helle Mardahl’s universe, color is not decoration but conviction. Glass is not fragile but expressive. And design is not&nbsp;</span><span>about fitting into a tradition, but reshaping it until it feels entirely your own. </span></p>
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<p><span><strong>Your work is joyful but deliberate. What does joy mean to you as a serious design value?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>Joy is a choice. I’m very determined to see the world from a positive, open, and grateful perspective, and that mindset shapes my work. Making people smile through design is the greatest achievement. Joy is about creating something that stands out and tells a story, while still being crafted with intention and care. The real challenge is allowing playfulness and humor to exist without losing depth. That balance is at the core of my design values. So in short, don’t take it too seriously, have fun!&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><strong>You dress with the same boldness as your objects. How much of your personal style is part of your creative discipline?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>I love dressing up. I’ve always been genuinely interested in fashion. But I’m not particularly inspired by what’s mainstream. My personal style is very much connected to my work. Both are about composition, detail, and intuition. It’s about creating something distinctive without relying on trends.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><strong>What did glass allow you to express that fashion could not?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><span>Glass allowed me to create a more concentrated and self- contained universe—something lasting, collectible, and valuable in a different way than fashion. With glass, I can slow everything down. Each object requires time, craftsmanship and care. It’s not meant to be replaced. It’s meant to stay, to be collected, to live with you.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Central Saint Martins is known for stripping designers down. What part of you survived that education unchanged?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>It doesn’t strip you down. It makes you think and reflect. It challenges you to understand who you are. I wouldn’t say </span><span>I survived; I developed. The pressure and ambition at Saint Martins forced me to define myself clearly. That clarity has stayed with me ever since. </span></p>
<p><span><strong>Your glass embraces distortion and imperfection. What truth do imperfect objects hold for you?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>Life is unpredictable, and glass is too. That’s why I’m drawn to it. Molten glass shifts. It resists total control. It surprises. Its irregularities reflect something honest. Nothing meaningful is completely controlled. If the glass behaved perfectly, I would&nbsp;</span><span>probably lose interest. Imperfection is the beautiful thing about the process. </span></p>
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<p><span><strong>Pink and honey marked the beginning of your glass practice. Why were those colors essential—not optional?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>I’ve always experienced color almost as flavor. A raspberry pink or a warm honey tone carries something instinctive and emotional. Those colors strengthened that sensation. I wanted to create a universe where there’s a flavor for everyone.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Scandinavian design is often defined by restraint. When did you realize your work needed more emotion, not less?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>I’ve never felt defined by ‘Scandinavian restraint.’ I don’t like being reduced to a category or a geography. I want to stand apart. To&nbsp;find my own material, my own language. Glass became that for me. </span></p>
<p><span><strong>When did you stop questioning that instinct and start trusting it fully?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>I learned to trust it quite early. I’ve always seen the world visually and noticed details, colors, and forms differently. Once you experience that your perspective creates something special, you stop doubting it and start trusting it.&nbsp;</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><span>Every object carries my perspective of the world, colourful, humorous, and imperfectly perfect.</span></p>

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<p><strong>How has motherhood reshaped the way you define success and creative ambition?</strong></p>
<p><span>Motherhood makes everything more real and grounded. Success is not only measured professionally. It means being present at home and building something meaningful within my family. My definition of success is now more layered. Growth in business must coexist with growth at home. One cannot eclipse the other.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><strong>As your work becomes more coveted, how do you protect its intimacy and soul?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>By staying personally involved and by continuing to create from curiosity.&nbsp;</span></p>
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<p><span><strong>When someone buys your glass, what part of you are they taking home?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>Every object carries my perspective of the world, colorful, humorous, and imperfectly perfect. I hope it becomes part of your daily routine—something that adds beauty and personality to ordinary moments.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><strong>You envision a 360-degree studio part workshop, part showroom. What do you want visitors to feel before they understand it?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>I imagine a space where everything feels alive—where workshop, store, and office exist side by side.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>The process is such an important part of our world. One day, hopefully, everything will exist in one place. </span></p>
<p><span><strong>As your universe expands, what is the one quality your work can never afford to lose?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>It’s very important for me to preserve my creative vision. As things grow, it becomes even more important to stay aware, to evolve consciously, and to protect the time needed for the creative process.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><strong>In the Philippines, color and craft are often tied to celebration and storytelling. How do cultural memories shape the way you think about joy and color in your work?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>Cultural memories are powerful because they are rooted in feelings. I want my objects to feel like small memories, something you </span><span>don’t forget. When different cultural references meet, they create exchange and respect. That mix can form something new. For me, color is a universal language that connects people. </span></p>
<p><span><strong>Many Filipino designers balance tradition and modernity. Looking at your journey from fashion to glass, how do you reconcile innovation with timelessness?</strong></span></p>
<p><span>I think timelessness comes from honesty. If something is created from a genuine point of view rather than from a trend, it has a better chance of lasting.&nbsp;</span></p>
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Inside Helle Mardahl’s Universe of Color and Light

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