A group of emerging designers created their own iterations of the humble ashtray for a one-day exhibition as part of 3 Days of Design, producing everything from puffy, dimpled dishes to trough-like vessels.

Smoking Diaries was organised by friends Guillaume Gindrat, Frederik Buchman, Massimo Scheidegger and Bruno Pauli Caldas, who met while studying at Swiss design school ÉCAL.

The idea of reinterpreting ashtrays wasn’t born out of an interest with the object itself (although a few of them are smokers) but a desire to bring people together, explained Gindrat.

Smoking Diaries asked 22 designers to reimagine the ashtray

“The ashtray is an easy answer to that: a small, pragmatic object that naturally sits at the centre of conversation,” he told Dezeen.

“It’s ambiguous, culturally stigmatised, yet deeply symbolic,” he continued.

“We weren’t aiming to produce objects for their own sake but to explore the phenomena of a ritual, which is very social.”

Inès Aznar and Kazia Kempa’s version has a bobbled border

A total of 22 designers were asked to participate, almost all of which are new to industry. Some made solo submissions but others worked together in pairs, creating 17 ashtrays all together.

“They’re people we admire, both for their work and their personalities,” Gindrat explained.

“The idea was to spotlight emerging people who haven’t yet had many chances to exhibit their work, especially in spaces like 3 Days of Design or Salone del Mobile, where access can be difficult without the backing of a big name or institution.”

Denise Merletter’s ashtray is shaped like a trough

The brief given to the group was left “intentionally open”, anchored by only two rules: they had to fabricate their designs themselves, and the ashtrays had to be tabletop-sized so that they could ultimately be exhibited at Café Nick – a historic bar in Copenhagen.

Some of the designers produced quirky renditions of the classic ring-shaped ashtray.

Alex Nguyen and Francois Briand’s ashtray, for example, is round and puffy with a dimpled centre, then there’s Inès Aznar and Kazia Kempa’s circular tray, which has bobbles running around its lip.

Some of the ashtrays incorporate concrete and terracotta

Others were more experimental in form: Till Seegräber‘s space probe-like ashtray is raised up on thin metal legs, while Denise Merletter‘s hollowed design almost resembles a trough.

A couple of the designers branched out in their use of material. This includes Claire Clément’s ashtray, which balances on a craggy chunk of concrete. Maxine Granzin‘s is a sculpted block of terracotta, featuring a central depression to hold cigarette butts and a tiny hole where matches can be stored.

The exhibition was held at Café Nick

On the day of the exhibition at Café Nick, visitors were allowed to sit, chat, smoke and actually use the ashtrays – a factor that was key to Gindrat and the other organisers.

“We believe people engage with objects very differently when they’re invited to use them rather than just look at them… it brought the project back to the core function of the object: to be handled, shared, and experienced,” he said.

Attendees were encouraged to use the ashtrays

The project also saw Gindrat, Buchman, Scheidegger, and Caldas team up with Lausanne-based graphic designer Alice Monguzzi to produce a 28-page zine, in which contributors were asked to reflect on smoking as a cultural practice.

It’s hoped that the publication, together with exhibition, will also stoke discussion about the design industry as a whole.

“We’d like it to raise questions about how we exhibit, how we communicate, and what voices are being heard,” Gindrat added.

“We hope it showed that it’s possible to create something meaningful independently, without waiting for permission.”

A smoking-themed zine was also handed out to guests

Smoking Diaries was held on 18 June as part of this year’s 3 Days of Design festival. Other events during the festival included British designer John Pawson launching a paint collection comprised entirely of shades of white and Dutch brand Moooi debuting a line of furry mycelium chairs.

The photography is by Oskar Kwong. 

3 Days of Design took place in Copenhagen from 18 to 20 June. See Dezeen Events Guide for more events taking place in the Danish capital and elsewhere around the world.

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