Dezeen Magazine

Helle Mardahl's The Grand Suite

Helle Mardahl designs The Grand Suite for woman "who lives in a dream world"

Designer Helle Mardahl has turned her Copenhagen showroom into a messy home for a "shopaholic", displaying her glass designs on an unmade bed and in a lonely dining room during 3 Days of Design.

The installation, called The Grand Suite, came about as Mardhal wanted to display her pieces in a way that was completely different to how the brand has shown its pieces before.

Female mannequin at a dining table
One room shows the woman eating dinner with a dog

"This year we thought, instead of producing way too much stuff that we don't need, we will do a scenery of something unexpected, unpredictable and unbelievable; a little bit weird," Mardahl told Dezeen at the opening event.

To do so, Mardahl came up with the character of a woman living on her own in a grand suite, who is shown hiding under her sheets in a messy apartment.

Mannequin under the sheets in a bed
One room shows the character hiding under the bedsheets

The brand described her as "a traveler – an adventurous woman residing in the most luxurious grand suite. Treated like the queen of the castle, she enjoys her privacy yet desires company".

Mardahl scattered the character's belongings around the apartment – including a number of the brand's products.

"It made a lot of sense to make The Grand Suite for this overwhelming woman, who lives in a dream world but she's on her own, and she's a little bit of a shopaholic," Mardahl explained.

Vanity in pink and blue
A vanity in the bedroom holds glass pieces and a surprise in a drawer

The designer intentionally created surprising details as part of the tableau, including a dildo hiding in the underwear drawer beneath a vanity that holds Mardahl's latest glassware designs.

"It's a little bit shocking, a little bit 'what's going on now, what is that?'," Mardahl said.

"Another thing was to make something that was more realistic, so we've got a bed, we've got bed tables; it's a little bit more realistic than previous years," she added.

In the dining room, a woman whose face is a golden mask eats dinner next to a porcelain Dalmatian, while a recorded laugh plays on repeat.

Messy bedroom with glassware
Helle Mardahl's glassware is scattered throughout the apartment

The recorded voice is Mardahl's own, as is that of the woman snoring under the sheets in the bedroom.

"My husband and me were making our own dinner party last night [for the recording], and I was laughing so much, it was hilarious," Mardahl said.

The installation also showcases a number of new designs from Mardahl's brand, including smaller cups with her signature round holders and stretched oval pendant lights.

Lighting designs made from glass in different colours
New pieces on show included elongated glass lamps

As well as The Grand Suite, Mardahl's designs can also be seen at the nearby Designmuseum Denmark.

Here, she created a souvenir stand that sells glassware as well as caps, jewellery and smaller accessories that the Dezeen team visited as part of our live coverage for 3 Days of Design. Mardahl has also designed a small exhibition of her work inside the museum.

Other events taking place as part of the 3 Days of Design festival include an exhibition of handmade "organic" plastic furniture and office furniture that has been turned into modular storage.

The photography is by Alastair Philip Wiper.

3 Days of Design takes place at venues across Copenhagen from 12 to 14 June. See our 3 Days of Design 2024 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the event.