Krefeld chooses its Christmas mug: this concept worked so well at last year’s launch that, once again, the town’s residents will be asked to decide which design should feature on the traditional Christmas mug. For decades, this elegantly designed mug has been as much a part of the Advent season in Krefeld as biscuits and the scent of candles. It is sold at the city’s ‘Made in Krefeld’ Christmas market and has long since become a collector’s item – so much so that it usually has to be marked ‘sold out’ at some point.
This time, five students from the Faculty of Design at the Hochschule Niederrhein explored the theme of the mug in a course led by their professor, Lisa Freyschmidt. ‘Mood in a cup’ was the theme this time. ‘A mug is, first and foremost, a practical object: you can drink from it, and it warms your hands,” says Lisa Freyschmidt. “But it can also embody a mood. The aim of the course was to infuse the cup with a feeling and an atmosphere. This can be achieved, for example, through its shape, a motif or a distinctive relief.”
Claire Neidhardt, head of city marketing, values the annual collaboration with the university’s design students for various reasons. “We want to highlight the excellent apprenticeship available here in Krefeld and the wonderful ideas the students come up with,” she explains. “We’ve noticed that people are curious about the mug every year. Last year, lots of people took part in the vote, and everyone had different favourites.”
Indeed, the variety of mugs is impressive; although they are all white, they differ greatly in shape and design. This may well be down to the completely different sources of inspiration drawn upon during their creation. For Laura Gorecka, it was a poem about the North Star that provided the decisive inspiration. With her minimalist design, she sought to capture the tranquillity of an untouched snowy landscape. “A band runs down the middle, which, in a way, embraces the mug,” explains the student. “I’ve incorporated the relief of a star into the cup.” The design is characterised by its universal, linear shape and its light weight.
When creating her model, Sophie Armbrust had family and friends in mind, gathering round a festively laid table at Christmas. “The cup is meant to be a quiet companion,” she says. “It should convey a sense of togetherness, warmth and belonging.” Here, too, a star is used as a relief, but on a much larger scale. The mugs can be stacked, and when placed one on top of the other, they complete the star motif. The mug has a generous capacity of 350 millilitres.
Björn Hackenbruck is the only one to have featured a colourful motif on his cup: a skier hurtling down a slope. “When designing it, I had the first set of ski tracks on a freshly groomed slope in mind,” explains the designer. “I wanted to transfer that association to the mug.” Indeed, on closer inspection, you can see that the skier leaves a fresh track in relief behind him, which runs all the way round the mug. Narrower lines run from top to bottom, intended to evoke the characteristic texture of a slope immediately after a snow groomer has passed over it.
Jana Klimmek has brought along a whole sheet full of drawings of mugs. Drawing on her own inspirations, she ultimately chose an extremely original idea. “We’re seeing less and less snow in winter and lots of rain instead,” says the student. “The mug depicts this new kind of Christmas weather as a stormy, rainy day.” A drop-shaped relief allows you to experience this weather by touch, whilst the handle is reminiscent of an umbrella handle.
Louise Köhnen also opted for a distinctive handle shape for her mug: the handle, shaped like a little man, is reminiscent of a freshly cut-out biscuit. “My mug combines nostalgia with historical drinking culture,” says the student, explaining her almost classic design. “It made me think of Christmas at my grandmother’s. For me, it was always like stepping into another world.” The cosy warmth that a hot chocolate with cream leaves on your fingers is meant to be felt thanks to the shape of the mug.
Anyone wishing to take a closer look at the five prototypes for the new Christmas mug has two opportunities to do so: they will be on display at the Faculty of Design’s faculty exhibition on Saturday, 1 August, from 11 am to 5 pm at the Shedhalle on Frankenring, and from 4 to 7 August they will be on display during normal opening hours at the Lechner & Hayn stationery shop at Rheinstraße 114. Voting is taking place at the exhibitions in person, as well as on 27 July and 5 August via the city marketing team’s Instagram channel (#heimatreisenkrefeld).
