Dedali by ferm LIVING: how to group the off-white vases and bowl
Buy the Dedali H18 cm vase if you want one; for a group, set the 34 cm bowl low in the centre, the 26 cm tall vase behind it and the H11 cm elsewhere.
Short answer: If you buy one Dedali vase, buy the H18 cm: at 15 cm across it holds a generous handful of stems and still works on a shelf. For a group, put the 34 cm bowl low in the centre and the H25 cm vase, which actually measures 26 cm, behind it to one side, and keep the H11 cm for a single stem somewhere else in the room.
Four pieces, one folded surface
The series takes its name from dédale, the French word for a maze, which comes from Daedalus, the craftsman of Greek myth who built the Labyrinth for King Minos on Crete. The reference is in the tops: the clay folds back on itself in narrow channels, so from above each piece reads like a small labyrinth, while the sides fall in soft vertical ripples.
The forms are made with 3D-printed ceramic techniques. Look closely and you can see fine horizontal lines where the clay was laid down layer by layer; step back and they disappear into a soft, even grain that picks up side light. The vases are stoneware, unglazed outside and glazed inside, so they hold water for fresh stems while the outside keeps a dry, matt finish. The clay is natural, and small marks and variations differ from piece to piece.
The numbers behind a good group
The three vases climb in even steps of height, 11, 18 and 26 cm, but not in width. The diameter nearly doubles from the H11 cm to the H18 cm, from 8 to 15 cm, and then barely grows to 17 cm on the tallest. So the small one reads as slender, the middle one as full, and the tall one as upright. That difference in outline is what stops three pieces looking like a row of the same vase in three sizes.
| Piece | Ø x height | Weight | Arrangement height (1.5–2 x vase) | Best place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dedali Vase H11 cm | 8 x 11 cm | 0.22 kg | 17–22 cm | Bedside table, windowsill, a single stem |
| Dedali Vase H18 cm | 15 x 18 cm | 1.0 kg | 27–36 cm | Shelf or dining table, a full handful |
| Dedali Vase H25 cm | 17 x 26 cm | 1.8 kg | 39–52 cm | Sideboard or floor, branches |
| Dedali Bowl | 34 x 11 cm | 3.1 kg | Kept low | Centre of a table or sideboard |
The arrangement column uses the florist's usual proportion: stems one and a half to two times the height of the vase. It tells you the clearance you need. The tall vase with branches wants about 50 cm of free height, which rules out most bookshelf compartments; the H18 cm with stems needs about 35 cm.
The footprint matters on a narrow surface too. With about 5 cm between pieces, the three vases in a row take 50 cm of shelf. The bowl with the tall vase takes 56 cm. All four together take about 90 cm, which is a sideboard, not a shelf.
How to place them, step by step
- Start with the bowl. At 34 cm across and 11 cm high it is the base line. On a dining table, keep it in the centre, where its low height lets people see each other over it.
- Put the tall vase behind and to one side. Set the H25 cm a hand's width behind the bowl's rim, off centre. The 15 cm difference in height gives the group a clear high point.
- Keep the middle vase on the other side. The H18 cm balances the tall one by its width, not its height.
- Move the small one away. The H11 cm is the same height as the bowl, so next to it it disappears. On its own, on a bedside table or windowsill, it holds a single stem and echoes the group from across the room.
- Light it from the side. The folds and printed lines show under light that rakes across them, from a window to one side or a lamp beside the group. Overhead light flattens them.
The vases are described as suited to voluminous, Ikebana-inspired arrangements, and the folded tops help: the channels hold stems apart and lean them outward. Three or five stems at different angles look deliberate.
Our pick for a shelf, a table and a sideboard
For a single vase on a shelf or table: the H18 cm. It is the most useful width, it needs only about 35 cm of clearance with stems, and at 1.0 kg it is steady without being heavy.
For a dining table: the bowl alone, filled with fruit or left empty. It is wide enough to anchor the table and low enough for conversation.
For a sideboard at least 90 cm long: the bowl and the H25 cm together, with the H18 cm added if there is room. Keep the background plain; off-white folds against a busy wall lose the relief that makes them interesting.
On care, the unglazed outside is the part to watch. Dust settles in the folds, so use a soft dry brush rather than a cloth, and pour water in carefully so it does not run down the outside. To see Dedali beside other ceramic and glass forms, browse our vases collection.
