Without a doubt, IKEA has churned out countless of well-received collaborations that can elevate homes. From their SAMMANKOPPLA collection with Greyhound Thailand to the Sonos-backed SYMFONISK speakers, the furniture giant continues to deliver desirable housewares. Likewise, 2021 will see IKEA feature collabs with prominent individuals and labels. Kicking things off the year is OSYNLIG.
There's always a quirky meaning behind IKEA's Swedish-named products. For OSYNLIG, which translates to invisible, it's all about intangibility and, of course, invisible design. Besides physical aesthetics that give homes character, factors such as scents can contribute an identity to houses too. Onboard this aromatic project with IKEA is Byredo founder Ben Gorham.
Using his expertise in luxury fragrance and fashionable leather goods for the Stockholm-based brand, Gorham certainly contributed fascinating attributions to OSYNLIG. 13 scented candles are featured in this limited collection. And each has its own story.
“The way your home smells is very emotional and plays a huge part in how you feel being there. It isn’t just about things being functional and practical, it’s the place where you come together with family and friends and make memories”, explained Gorham.
Sensing Scents
Scent can indeed transport one to places, moods, or even certain memories. Tapping onto this association, OSYNLIG sought to provoke the kind of emotion that’s hard to put into words—from nostalgia for the things you’ve done to dreams of the things you might—and, above all, heighten the experience of being at home.
This collection also involves students from the Royal College of Art to explore the potential of invisible design. Expounding on the idea that it’s not just what your home looks like that affects how it makes you feel, IKEA prototyped products that used light, sound and smell to transform a space. This had a big influence on how they put together the final range.
The Power of Three
Presented in hand-formed ceramic vessels, these functional candles exhibits sustainable qualities. It comes with a lid that can extinguish flames, doubles as a stand, or to disguise the fact it’s a candle at all. Also, it's reusable later as a mug or pot too.
Design-wise, the triangle-shaped marking on each candle’s container references to one of the most popular ways people understand fragrance. Mainly a combination of top notes: which you smell first, then middle notes, which come next and last longer, and base notes, which form the bottom of the triangle and remain for the entire duration of the fragrance. The collection is similarly divided into 3 categories—Fresh, Floral, and Woody. Hence, they guide every user to the scents within the broad range that will best suit them.
Colours play a significant role in distinguishing the scents. Each of the candles is glazed with a blend of two colours chosen by Gorham that represent the ingredients used in it.
The OSYNLIG limited collection is now sold out at all IKEA Singapore stores and IKEA Singapore online. Alternatively, check out resellers on Carousell or StockX.
