Mystic Garden Nominated for the Icelandic Design Awards 2026

Mystic Garden is a collection of glass lamps by Brynjar Sigurðarson and Veronika Sedlmair of Studio Brynjar and Veronika. The collection consists of hand-blown glass objects in which experiments with materials, colour and light meet narratives inspired by nature, romance and the supernatural. Mystic Garden is nominated for the Icelandic Design Awards in the category Product.

The works are simultaneously lamps, sculptures and imagined landscapes, expanding the boundaries of design. The project is multifaceted, with craftsmanship and glassblowing at its heart, an art that takes decades to master. The objects spark the imagination and deepen our relationship with the things we surround ourselves with.

The design and creation of Mystic Garden build on years of research by Brynjar and Veronika into the relationship between humans, objects and nature. In this project, they push the technical boundaries of hand-blown glass, while their research is also shaped by an interest in the emotional and spiritual power of colour.

Behind the collection lies years of material research in collaboration with glassblowers at CIRVA, the International Glass and Visual Arts Research Centre in Marseille, where the technical limits of hand-blown glass were explored. Two layers of molten coloured glass are shaped and fused into large forms, with hues and gradients that transform as light passes through the material. The process demands an in-depth dialogue and close collaboration between designers and craftspeople.

This approach stands in contrast to contemporary production methods, where everything is expected to be completed as quickly as possible. Projects like this are therefore a form of rebellion, a quiet act of resistance against the speed and short-sightedness of modern life.

The jury considers the outstanding design and technical challenges of glassblowing not to be ends in themselves, but rather the foundation for the delicate presence and sense of mystery that define the collection as a whole.

Mystic Garden is a collection of glass lamps by Brynjar Sigurðarson and Veronika Sedlmair, in which experiments with hand-blown glass, colour and light meet nature, romance and the supernatural. The result of years of material research is a series of sculptural works in which exceptional craftsmanship and a sensitive command of colour, transparency, form and light create objects that seem almost alive.

Studio Brynjar and Veronika is an artistic design collaboration between Brynjar Sigurðarson and Veronika Sedlmair. The studio is based in Germany but identifies itself as a German-Icelandic force in the fields of design and art.

The Icelandic Design Awards 2026 ceremony will take place at Gróska on 5 November, accompanied by a related discussion. Save the date!

The Icelandic Design Awards highlight the importance and quality of design and architecture in Iceland, emphasising their impact on quality of life, value creation and sustainability for society as a whole. The awards will be presented for the thirteenth time this year, across three categories: Product // Place // Project. In addition, an award for Best Investment in Design and the Icelandic Design Awards Honorary Award will be presented.

The Iceland Design and Architecture Centre organises the awards in collaboration with the Museum of Design and Applied Art and the Iceland University of the Arts, with support from the Housing and Construction Authority, Business Iceland, Gróska, the University of Iceland Science Park and Blue Lagoon Iceland.