Lex Pott is a talented designer from the Netherlands whose ‘TWIST’ candles have recently become popular across the planet. However, his creative talent doesn’t end there. Pott uses the natural properties of wood, metal, and wax, of course, to create unique and functional art pieces.
Pott’s parents were also artists, so he grew up in a creative space and has been fascinated by design since childhood. Despite being aware of the difficulties that come with trying to make a living as an artist, he decided to pursue a career in design anyway, and graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Pott enjoyed his time at the academy because it “sat in the grey area between art and industrial design,” which for him was the perfect combination.
I could design products that could be used, while focusing a lot on experimentation and artistic values.
The ‘TWIST’ candles, which have become the coolest candle of 2020, actually started as a mishap.
How did the unique design of the ‘TWIST’ candles come about?
“Last year I made the Pillar candles, first for myself, and then for HAY. We had a heat wave last Summer and it was so hot, some of the candles started to bend over.
In the beginning I was very frustrated. I was like, ‘Fuck, all the candles are ruined and I can’t sell them anymore.’ And then after a couple of weeks, I realised that it was a beautiful material quality. Somehow it has a liquid state, it has a flexible state, and it has a solid state. I wanted to try and mimic those flexible moments.
We spent a lot of time, extruding candles, very similar to making sausages. I knew with the right temperature, you have a flexible candle, and as soon as it cools down, it keeps its position as you dictate it. It sounds quite easy, but it was a nightmare to get there. Now have a little machine that extrudes the wax for us. We play with it, let the wax cool in the moulds overnight, and that’s how we make our candles.
They’ve been quite popular, which has helped us through the pandemic crisis, although I expect business will begin to slow down in the upcoming months as the weather warms up.”
Pott told SHEESH! that he designs pieces that he sees a need for in his own life, and then presents his work to the world to see if others would be interested in what he has created. His ‘TWIST’ candles are a perfect example of designing due to necessity, as Pott didn’t want to waste the melting wax. It just so happened that others loved the candles as well. In general, Pott prefers to design for himself: “There’s always the tendency to give the people what they want. In my case, if I make something just to please other people, it always ends up boring or average. At the end of the day, if nobody likes it, I will.”
Check out Pott’s Instagram and portfolio to view more of his work. If you want to buy a ‘TWIST’ candle (we assume you do), you can do so here.
