This issue of The Vessel revolves around the concept of HOME. British interior designer Ilse Crawford published the book Home is Where the Heart Is? in 2005, however, the familiar phrase is often used in a slightly altered version: Home is where the art is. Both phrases hold true in our homes. Ida Marie Nissen and I, Charlotte Jul – the guest editors of this issue – share a passion for art, design, crafts, books, food, family, and friends. With four kids between us, toys and teenage items (and challenges) are also a massive part of our daily life.

As an editor, curator, and advisor in the field of craft and design, and with Ida's background as an architect and graphic art director, we are both highly visual individuals who appreciate the aesthetic aspects of life. To kick off this issue, we brainstormed about what HOME could feel and look like, and were conscious about bringing the sensual and emotional elements into the mix.

What does HOME truly mean? What contributes to the feeling of being at home?

A treasured heirloom? The view from your window? A particular piece of furniture?

And is it possible to feel just as at home in your language and traditions if you, for instance, are living abroad, as in a physical space in your native country?

To us, HOME is deeply connected to our senses. It relates to smell, touch, sight, and the materials and objects we interact with. HOME is also tied to memories, and nothing compares to the way a piece of music or the smell of freshly baked bread can evoke recollections of HOME and the people with whom we shared those moments.

Even though we live in different parts of the world, we need little sanctuaries to breathe. Parks, beaches, forests, or mountains. Small havens of freedom and nature that serve as our retreats. Ida and I are both urbanites living in Copenhagen. Here, Ida has a small cabin with a lush garden. It's one of those coveted places where, if you're fortunate, you may be on a waitlist for 15 years before securing one. This cabin serves as Ida's sanctuary, complete with a greenhouse where she and her son relax and grow vegetables, all just five minutes from their apartment. That is true bliss.

My personal retreat is the beach. My mother took me there regularly as a baby, and I am convinced that this early exposure to open horizons, silky-soft sand, and clear water has become ingrained in my very being. Nowadays, my favourite spot is Helgoland, an old-school bathhouse with year-round access to the sea and a sauna — but I feel instantly at home on any beach, as if my body knows that this is a safe place from childhood.

A home is much more than four walls and a roof, as you can read in some of the articles in this issue. In light of climate change and our planet's deteriorating condition, we must make significant changes. In the future, living smaller and smarter in larger cities will be essential. We also need to stop building new, and instead transform existing housing and structures. The newly acclaimed Thoravej 29 in Copenhagen is a building transformed by pihlmann architects and a pioneering example of this type of ultra-creative architecture, where everything demolished during the reconstruction has been reused and repurposed within the building. If you find yourself in Copenhagen, it's worth a visit.

In our work, we observe makers, artists, designers, and architects reimagining, rethinking, and revisiting traditional paradigms to create fresh and innovative interpretations. Ceramicists, for example, are using discarded food waste and crushed recycled glass containers as glazes for their ceramic endeavours. We also see newly invented materials that combine various natural components, such as paper pulp, flax, and hemp, as presented by eco-friendly startups. We see furniture made from new materials or discarded elements, yet without losing its high-end touch, feel, and value. We see new types of organic "plastics" that have the potential to revolutionise the industry. Examples of Danish and European studios that are pushing this agenda – with, for instance, coffee grounds or banana plant fibres. Several examples of these new types of craft, design and architecture can be found in the book Circular Materials – Innovation and Reuse in Design and Architecture (Gestalten, 2025).

In this issue of The Vessel, you will meet individuals who welcome you into their personal interpretation of HOME or show you the objects or surroundings that evoke this grounded feeling. The six articles present various perspectives on memories, record collections, art, and landscapes and a lot more that, to them, induce that profound sense of belonging. You will encounter both young talents and established artists among the interviewees. You will read about the idea of HOME in a future context, drawing connections to modernism while highlighting current sustainable initiatives. You will also enjoy a visit to a contemporary studio home of a renowned Norwegian ceramicist, and you will hopefully feel inspired by our visual photo essay featuring 15 international artists, designers, craft artists, and architects, each sharing their interpretation of what HOME means to them.

We are grateful to Norwegian Crafts for supporting our sensual take and perspective on HOME in this issue, and to all our contributors, who have made this collaboration a true pleasure. We are incredibly proud and excited about the final result.

Enjoy!