Soft Vase
Date: 1993
Commissioned by: droog, Amsterdam (available here)
Type: Industrial product
The material polyurethane was enough of a concept in itself to be able to opt for a concept less product. Hella didn’t even want to design the form, an extraordinary approach for a designer. Instead she decided to concentrate completely on the material. Polyurethane’s unique qualities include not only the replication and representation in relief of every detail, but also a particular atmosphere. Hence, the form of an archetypal vase was copied and subsequently cast in a transparent, flexible but transient material. By their association with imperfection, ‘faults’ in the production process, such as trapped air bubbles, were extremely effective in emphasizing the vase’s unique appearance. So she left them as they were.