Voo Visits
For the latest episode of Voo Visits, we met Malte van der Meyden in his temporary home during a short weekend stay in Berlin. He talked about how a spontaneous experiment with found objects turned into a never-ending love story with wax, the dinner table moment that led to his work first being stocked at Voo, and why he believes candles are meant to be lit, not preserved.
“What began as an experiment with found objects quickly evolved into my own creative language. Although the forms are new, they feel nostalgic and somehow familiar, especially because finding them was a coincidental moment between the material and my bodily actions.”
Voo: How did your journey with materials and objects begin?
Malte: The candles emerged intuitively. I’ve long been fascinated by materiality, form, and atmosphere, all qualities that candles embody directly and also add to spaces. What began as an experiment with found objects quickly evolved into my own creative language. Although the forms are new, they feel nostalgic and somehow familiar, especially because finding them was a coincidental moment between the material and my bodily actions.
V: How did the collaboration with Voo come about?
M: Thibaud discovered the candle five years ago at a dinner, where it was part of the table decorations. At that time, I was still making the candles in small batches at my apartment, just for friends and special occasions. VooStore was the first shop to carry the candles, which created its own momentum and opened up new opportunities. Since then, I have set up a studio to produce the candles and other objects.
“My objects often start from a very personal place like a feeling or a memory connected to a particular space. Rather than designing for a fixed environment, I design for flexibility and openness.”
V: Is there a space, public or private, that changed how you think about objects?
M: Yes, the Wolfgang Laib exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart in 2023! Laib’s work, with its minimalistic and meditative use of natural materials like pollen and beeswax, reveals how objects can embody time, presence, and ritual beyond their physical form.
Experiencing his installation made me reconsider the relationship between materiality and atmosphere. It proved to me that simple, often overlooked materials can evoke a powerful sense of stillness and connection. It inspired me to approach my own work with greater awareness of the spaces objects create around themselves and the emotions they can carry.
V: Do you let materials misbehave, or do you try to control them?
M: For me, it's not about taming materials, but about understanding them. Every material has its own unique texture, character, and history. I work very consciously with these qualities, but I believe in structured freedom. I give materials space to express themselves, but always with a clear intention behind it. I love it when you can feel the authenticity of a material. But they shouldn’t “misbehave.” They are allowed to live, age and react, but not to dominate. My role is to integrate their characteristics into a calm, cohesive composition. In the end, an object should speak not just about the material, but through it.
V: How do you feel about your candles being burned?
M: I don't think candles are made to be preserved. A good friend of mine claims that an unlit candle brings bad luck – I wouldn’t go that far. However, once it has been lit, a candle becomes more than just an object. It creates atmosphere and intimacy. The idea that objects live and change with us is very important to me. If someone burns my candle, it means that it has found its place in their life.
V: Can you describe your design process?
M: My design process is actually quite simple. It often starts with curiosity: exploring materials and their potential without any preconceived ideas. I enjoy experimenting and playing around, and sometimes creating simple sketches or models to test shapes and relationships. The process has to come naturally.
V: Do you envision your objects in specific settings or spaces?
M: My objects often start from a very personal place like a feeling or a memory connected to a particular space. Rather than designing for a fixed environment, I design for flexibility and openness. I like my pieces to be quietly strong, without dominating a room.
Instead of forcing an object into a specific setting, I prefer it to become part of its surroundings. For instance, I designed a series of tables that resemble shards. Due to their asymmetrical shape, these tables do not dictate a specific viewing direction. They can be freely placed in a room.
V: How does designing a space differ from making an object?
M: Although designing a space and making an object are connected, they operate on very different scales. When designing an object, the focus is on intimacy, detail and how a person physically interacts with it. It's about tactility, proportions and how it functions in daily life.
Designing a space, however, is more about atmosphere, flow, and how people move around and experience it. A space must accommodate many experiences at once, and it often shapes behaviour more broadly than a single object can.
Both require sensitivity to material and form, but space design demands a broader awareness of context, scale, and time.
V: What’s something you haven’t tried yet that’s quietly waiting in the background?
M: For me, wax is an never-ending love story. It’s so rich in texture and form, and can be used in many different ways, such as in combination with paper. I’m currently developing a series of lamps using these materials.
Quick round of this or that:
V: Concept or intuition?
M: Intuition
V: Minimalism or maximalism?
M: Minimalist
V: Solo work or collaboration?
M: Collaboration is essential!
V: Candles: lit or just for show?
M: Lit
V: Objects or Architecture?
M: Objects
V: Perfection or imperfection?
M: Imperfection
Voo Visits is a series introducing new and old friends of Voo, like-minded creatives and people from Berlin who inspire us.
