The story — A playful take on the relationship between form and function. Dutch ceramist Marieke van Heesbeen went in search of the perfect combination of shapes to hold up our Halo Soap. 

What inspires you?
‘I get inspired by many things: from playfully trimmed boxwoods to simplistic bowls in the cycle to pipes that connect a factory. The world is an inexhaustible archive of forms.’

How do you start a project?
‘I have an ever-growing archive of shapes in porcelain that I playfully stack and combine. The design develops during the process. I give shapes a (different) function, I deform them by combining them with other shapes. Within my archive, so many combinations have not yet been made, I like to get surprised by a shape and the details that the design entails.

What work are your most proud of?
‘There is an element in every shape that makes me happy, The moment shape and color are in perfect harmony is what makes me proud.’

What inspired you for this collaboration?
‘The shape of the Halo was the start for this collaboration. The Halo is a recurring shape within my designs, this made it very interesting to find the perfect harmony between the Soap and the Dish.

How do you emphasize form in this collaboration for a 'functional product'?
‘By looking for the perfect balance between the two forms, I can still emphasize form for a functional product. By combining different shapes I went in search of this balance. The outer and inner rings are two inverted half-halos that create the container. The coon inside keeps the soap up.

Is there anything you do to make your work more sustainable?
‘With every product I make, I have residual material, both in clay and glaze. I let the clay dry per color, which I crush and reconstitute into new clay. I dry the icing into powder which I will re-dilute with the right amount of water.’