Vessels was founded by the 27‑year‑old multidisciplinary designer and educator Jariel Ann, who’s always behind one cool project or another. Before launching Vessels three months ago, she co‑founded the now‑defunct virtual marketplace W8RLD, which stocked some of the most directional Southeast Asian labels, including Malaysia’s raver favourite Ghostboy, the quirky Seremban‑based “wearable sculptures” practitioner Money Wang, and more.
Multidisciplinary designer and educator Jariel Ann started Vessels in March this year as a way to reconnect with design after going through massive burnout.
THE MERCH: A collection of small, strange and offbeat 3D‑printed objects – mostly vases, lamps, and sculptural things that blur the line between homeware and tchotchkes
Some of her works – printed using a bioplastic known as PLA (polylactic acid) – appear to look like molten clouds or marshmallows.
THE CUTE FACTOR: Ann’s designs tend to occupy that sweet spot between cute and clever – designed with a sense of humour, softness and just the right dose of kookiness. Take how a double‑headed vase (see the opposite page) could come across as an abstract take on the tubby Michelin Man. In a world full of overdesigned, impersonal products, these playful pieces feel personal and pleasingly imperfect. “They kind of sit somewhere in between, and that in‑betweenness is kind of the point. Vessels is really about how digital objects can hold space beyond the screen … It’s an exploration of how something that starts in the digital realm (she starts with renders) can become tactile and even intimate. They’re meant to feel familiar, but also a little unexpected,” says Ann. That said, she doesn’t neglect utility. One perforated vase, for example, even doubles as a lampshade when turned upside down.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Hop on over to the Instagram account @vessels_000. Prices range from $80 to $250 and expect more designs to come in the next couple of months – think lighter holders that double as bag charms, stackable ashtrays, and a self‑construct stool. Intrigued?