Designer Profile: Isabella Farrell

Originally from Copenhagen, Isabella Farrell graduated from Designskolen Kolding last summer with a degree in Industrial Design. We spoke with her about her approach to form and function and the thinking behind the piece she created for Dialekt - the Stem vase. 

What is your dialekt? How would you describe your approach to design - your own visual or material language?

When I design, I try to create objects with simple forms, but with unexpected details - in the material, or in the functionality - that hopefully catch the eye. Something that makes you look twice, but that doesn’t shout. 

Where does that dialect come from? What made you the designer you are?

I’ve found a lot of inspiration in the Danish design culture, but I want to challenge it in a playful and contemporary way. There’s a strong tradition here, and I think that is valuable - but it’s interesting to ask what it looks like when you push against it a little. Take for example the Stem vase, which has a very simple, geometric design if you compare it to traditional more center-piece like vases. But in that quietness it becomes interesting and functional, as it becomes part of an environment rather than competing with it. 

What is local design to you? Does that change how you approach a design, and where in the process do you feel it most?

Local design can mean sourcing materials close to home, or working with materials that are honest about where they come from. I think the focus on honest materials and longevity is genuinely shaping the direction designers move in right now. When you work with transparency - in material and in process - it creates objects that people understand and want to keep. But I also think about proximity in a more human sense - creating ideas in the studio, with close collaborators or friends. That closeness shows up in the work. 

Tell us about the Stem Vase - how was the design process behind it?

I was very inspired by the organic shapes you see in calla lilies and tulips, and I tried drawing from that - mimicking those forms. But I kept feeling like I wasn’t capturing what I actually love about flowers. What I eventually realised was that I didn’t want to mimic the flower. I wanted to highlight it. The traditional vase is often the thing that’s loud. I wanted to turn that around. Make something quiet enough that the flower becomes the main focus. Something that belongs in the room without insisting on being noticed.