In this workshop, we’ll be “kneading” wood: Using a modular system, we’ll first construct a wooden framework, which will then be coated with wood pulp. This process creates branched candleholders whose shapes are reminiscent of tree structures.

In doing so, we’ll delve into material practices that draw on the forest ecosystem and a particularly resource-conserving approach. Over the course of three hours, we’ll develop innovative objects that promote a mindful and sensitive approach to materials and manufacturing processes.

Designer Basse Stittgen has developed a bioplastic made from cellulose and lignin—two substances found together in the cell walls of every tree. Cellulose is extracted for paper production, while lignin is usually burned. The material developed by Stittgen brings both substances back together, thereby reversing the industrial separation process. The result is, in every sense, a branching forest for candles.