Byredo and Iittala launch Ljus, a five-piece glass and scent line

By Elena Vasquez

Iittala and Byredo have launched Ljus, a five-piece collaborative collection announced earlier this year that pairs handcrafted glass with fragrance.

The series merges Iittala's glassmaking heritage with Byredo's home fragrance line. Every object is blown and finished by workers in Iittala's Finnish glass workshop, with each piece carrying small variations that the brand says adds character.

What does the Ljus collection include?

The series comprises five pieces:

• A thick candle stand
• A candle ornament that sits atop a flame to refract light
• A "refractor" designed to encase a candle and bend its glow through cut glass
• An incense holder
• A diffuser vessel that shares the refractor's silhouette

The refractor is the line's starting point, said Janni Vepsäläinen, Iittala's creative director. She framed the collaboration around ritual objects rather than pure decoration.

"We wanted to create a small collection that explores the material expertise of both brands and enters the world of the home with this more ritual approach," Vepsäläinen said.

Why does light anchor the design?

Light, not scent, drives the visual logic. Vepsäläinen, who leads Iittala's design output, tied the brief to Nordic conditions.

"Being from Northern Europe, we also share an understanding of the northern light, which shifts from complete darkness in the winter to eternal sunshine in the summer," she said. "This is a theme I often approach in my projects at Iittala, because it's such a unique quality for a brand that lives and breathes in this Nordic environment."

She read the candle ritual through the same lens. "Lighting a candle is a beautiful, meditative moment. The scent enters your nose and fills the room, and glass works as a beautiful companion for that living light," Vepsäläinen said. "This conversation between glass and light really was the beginning."

How does the refractor fit the brief?

The refractor surrounds a candle and bends its flame through patterned glass. For Vepsäläinen, it is the piece that proves the concept.

"It's a piece that really beautifully demonstrates the conversation between crafted glass and living light," she noted. "There's something about the integrity and the intricate details of crafted glass in this object. You can almost feel the process of glassblowing, how the molten glass has been formed."

What does the partnership rest on?

The two brands share a design ethic rather than a visual one. Vepsäläinen summed up the overlap in plain, functional terms.

"The strongest shared value [between Iittala and Byredo] is a belief that objects can carry emotion and meaning, as well as function," she said. "There's this Nordic understanding of design: that it should always serve a purpose and be part of people's everyday lives."

The refractor's silhouette carries through to the diffuser vessel, suggesting the two brands are building a shared visual vocabulary rather than shipping a one-off drop.