The story behind ICONIC HOME – Interview with the designer
The design of the vases from ICONIC HOME was developed by our chief designer Nicolas Woll.
He is CEO of DESIGNSCAPE, the parent company of the ICONIC HOME brand.
While studying architecture, he discovered his passion for the Bauhaus style and purist designs.
In 2002, parallel to his studies, he founded the company Designscape Media. Even after completing his diploma, he continued to work in the area of online marketing and e-commerce.
Since 2007 the focus has shifted to the area of wall design. Well-known online shops such as Wandtattoos.de have been part of his company since then.
What initially started as a small sideline, supported by family and friends, quickly developed into a trendy product.
Since 2014, the Designscape company has been located in a modern, energy-efficient building, which was built according to the design of Nicolas Woll.
It is specifically tailored to the needs of the company and the individual work areas can be perfectly coordinated, from design through production to logistics.
The focus of the design planning here was also unmistakably on the purist design of the building.
DESIGNSCAPE has now inspired over 500,000 customers with its design ideas for walls.
How did the idea of 3D printing vases come about?
The idea for ICONIC HOME came from the joy of designing, creating and developing.
We have been using 3D printing to produce special parts in our company for many years.
We often need special objects and devices for our operating processes that cannot be purchased in the required shape.
We then print these ourselves according to our needs.
I have been familiar with CAD and 3D modeling since I studied architecture.
Some time ago I designed a vase as a gift for my wife, which was very well received by my friends. This is where the motivation for this project came from.
What was the first vase you designed?
The first vase was the Straight model. It is a very straightforward design.
The vase has a bottle shape with a narrow opening for long-stemmed individual flowers or grasses.
The distinctive logo of ICONIC HOME is also derived from the shape of the first vase.
How long did the development phase last?
The design and development of the project took approximately one year.
There was a lot of modeling, research and tinkering. A separate production area for 3D manufacturing was created.
This also entailed, among other things, major renovation work on the building.
The appropriate materials had to be put together and tested for suitability.
This went so far that numerous parts and modules were even developed and manufactured in-house for the manufacturing process.
Our iconic vases are manufactured in a design-oriented and efficient production environment. We don’t have any boring industrial hall flair.
How important is sustainability to you?
"Von Anfang an spielte Nachhaltigkeit bei unserem Projekt eine sehr große Rolle."
The base material for the vases is based on renewable raw materials such as corn and sugar cane.
The vases made of the degradable bio-plastic polylactide fit very well into the current times.
The additive manufacturing process using 3D printing with a printing temperature of 200° C (on a precisely small area) is very energy-saving compared to the production of glass and ceramic vases.
Such products require temperatures of 1000° C and more for production.
With our photovoltaic system on the company building, we produce far more electricity than we need for the additive manufacturing processes.
And if there is no sunshine and the storage facilities are empty, short-term needs are covered 100% by green electricity.
We also only use sustainable materials for our packaging.
The light but robust vases are manufactured in small series based on demand and shipped to the end customer in a climate-friendly manner using DHL GoGreen.
How many vase models are available at ICONIC HOME?
There are a total of five designs, each in three sizes and nine colors:
Model STRAIGHT
The straight-lined, timeless Straight vase is the shaper for the ICONIC HOME logo.
It is particularly suitable for individual flowers, pampas grass or branches.
Model PURE
The Pure vase has a wide bottle shape with a rounded neck. Here, the minimalist design is reduced to the essentials.
Due to its wider opening, this model is also suitable for larger flower bouquets.
Model SHAPE
The design of the Vase Shape is inspired by the silhouette of the female body.
It is suitable for smaller arrangements or even undecorated as a decorative object.
Model TWIST
The Twist vase offers the most classic vase shape in the ICONIC HOME series.
Here the special conciseness was created by the twist of the 60 individual segments.
Model SPHERE
The design of the bulbous vase is rooted in a spherical shape
(With a ball you automatically associate rotation, so that in this design the 60 segments were also twisted)
In the ancient imagination, the sphere was the spherical vaulted layer of the celestial vault around the earth.
And so the Sphere vase appropriately opens towards the sky with a wider opening that also allows for several flowers.
What makes the ICONIC HOME vases so special?
All ICONIC HOME models impress with the timelessly puristic design of the 60 deeply integrated segments.
This creates an extraordinary play of light and shadow.
They are light, robust and simply special in their shape and texture.
The 3D printing process is ideal for producing this unique design.
Is there anything to pay attention to when using the vases?
The material used, polylactide (PLA for short), is a bio-plastic that is made from regenerative sources.
The sustainable material, which is based on plant starch, unfortunately has the disadvantage that it is not very heat resistant.
Therefore, the vases are not suitable for outdoor use at high temperatures and should not be exposed to direct, strong sunlight.
Because sustainability is the focus at ICONIC HOME, producing the vases from conventional plastics such as ABS was not an option for us from the start.
How are the vases made?
The vases are made using 3D printing. The additive manufacturing process is very complex.
Each vase is built layer by layer by special 3D printing machines in a process that takes hours.
For the large Sphere vase, for example, this process takes over 13 hours.
Some of our large vases consist of more than 1260 individual layers, which are applied one after the other. The individual grooves of the manufacturing process can be seen if you look closely, making each vase unique.
Can I also use the vases for fresh flowers with water?
Although PLA is resistant to water, oils, fats and alcohol, it is permeable to water vapor.
Therefore the vases are not suitable for filling with water.
However, a vase without fresh flowers would not be a real vase.
For this reason, we include a waterproof, precisely fitting insert made of polypropylene.
This lightweight and break-resistant insert is also suitable for the dishwasher and is 100% recyclable.
This means that using fresh flowers in the vases is no problem.
The vases themselves can be washed with cold or lukewarm water.
How did the ICONIC HOME brand come about?
The goal was to find a name that would connect what we do: Iconic design for the home.
The fact that my nickname “Nic” is in the word ICONIC is pure coincidence 😉
In addition to the necessary trademark registration, the appropriate domain also had to be purchased.
The domain iconichome.com belonged to an artist from Los Angeles.
After weeks of communication, I managed to convince her to sell the domain name.
What do you have planned for the future?
ICONIC HOME is based on a small number of very striking three-dimensional designs that are immediately associated with the brand.
It will remain with a few sophisticated designs. We don’t want to be a mass-produced product that can be found on the shelves of large furniture stores.
The original ICONIC HOME design objects are manufactured exclusively by us in small series.
A well-rehearsed team that has existed for many years oversees the production and sends our vases from ICONIC HOME lovingly packaged on their journey to our customers.
