The Dwell 24: Christian + Jade
For the Copenhagen duo, design is less about the finished product and more about the storytelling that brings it to life.
For the Copenhagen duo, design is less about the finished product and more about the storytelling that brings it to life.
Smoke Cloud Chandelier, the first product by design studio Christian + Jade, is an enigmatic pendant, shaped a bit like a cirrus cloud, with hammered hollows on its surface for lamp oil. When lit, the flames set the aluminum body aglow, bringing attention to the material and the beauty of the fire. This is emblematic of the Copenhagen studio’s approach of telling stories through materials.
"We focus on the narrative and storytelling rather than the result of a design," says Jade Chan, cofounder with partner Christian Hammer Juhl. "We never start by thinking that we would like to make a chair or a lamp, but that we would like to understand a material better or learn a new way of working. In a way, function is more a tool, allowing direct proximity to the materials and intention behind a work."
Kor-Alm wine fountain by Christian + Jade
Courtesy Christian + Jade
Chan is from Singapore, while Hammer Juhl hails from a small town near Aarhus, Denmark’s second city. They met while studying at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands and created the Smoke Cloud Chandelier during a residency at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. "There, we met an old car builder who taught us how to form aluminum by hand," says Hammer Juhl. "Since then we have created a series of works where we apply this technique."
Chan says Hammer Juhl is more the "maker and designer" of the studio, while she heads research, conceptualization and storytelling: "One gives reason for why we make, and the other gives the form to the reason." Hammer Juhl attributes his fascination with making things to his furniture maker grandfather, whom he describes as a "kind of Gyro Gearloose character" who devised things around his home. Chan’s childhood was creative, too. "My mother loved working with her hands and was constantly diving into new materials and techniques and made sure we all tried them out too," she says.
The couple’s intuitive way of working means getting busy with their hands is a daily affair. They have stitched waxed-paper lamps and stacked them like building blocks to compose bold yet delicate light structures, interlocked wood pieces to form rocking objects in order to highlight the density of the material, and turned 154 pounds of unused quartz sand and wood ash into a dark-green glass fountain that spills wine into six glasses. The studio’s earnest and studious approach to both art and science makes it a fascinating one to watch.
You can learn more about Christian + Jade by visiting the studio’s website or on Instagram.
Top image courtesy Christian + Jade
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