bedMATE of the month #12: Sabine Marcelis

Each month we visit a creative, colorful and inspiring person. She or he is the "bedMATE of the month.

The bedMATE is the most iconic item in our collection. The extra-long pillow serves as a headboard, but also as a cuddle buddy, a friend who provides support.

We crawl into bed with the "bedMATE of the month. We take a peek into their homes and their colorful (bedroom) rooms. In conversation, we discover how they live the SUITE life. What goes on in their heads? Where do they get their inspiration? And what color do they dream in?

This month, all-round creative Nicole Huisman visited Rotterdam designer Sabine Marcelis, known for her juicy Candy Cubes, her love of working with glass and delightful color combinations.

Sabine was born in the Netherlands and raised in New Zealand, where she studied industrial design for several years. Until she suffered from 'itchy feet' and moved back to the Netherlands, where she entered the third year of the Design Academy and completed her bachelor. After graduating, she decided that she never wanted to work full-time for anyone and instead wanted to continue experimenting uncomplicated with materials and production processes - which is what fascinates and inspires her most about design.

And so it happened - she opened them 'Studio Sabine Marcelis' in Rotterdam and started doing a lot of freelancing for artists and fashion designers - product development to translate their vision into physical works. In the beginning with a lot of 'side-hustles', like teaching and babysitting, to pay the rent. Pretty soon her autonomous experiments were spotted by a few collectible design galleries and architecture firm OMA. Then she got the chance to create work for Design Miami, and collaborations with OMA followed. Gradually, her studio has continued to grow and the team now numbers seven. 'I absolutely don't want to grow any bigger than this either,' Sabine said. 'We now have a perfect dynamic in the team and can do everything together.'

Sabine's home is something special, an open loft with lots of curtains serving as walls, an exciting play of color, form, function and material, just like her work. 'Paul (Sabine's partner) is an architect and insisted on keeping what makes this space special and unique - its openness. We don't have many walls and even the bathroom is open (which is perfect for watching movies with the projector from the bath!). We didn't approach it with a grand-plan, very different from how I would approach a project for a client. It grew little by little to how it is today.'

The kitchen and kitchen island are favorite spots. 'We actually do everything on the island. It's the heart of the house.'

Also spotted, the juicy, eye-catching blocks of raisin. You've probably seen them passing by on Instagram, the now iconic Candy Cubes. 'The Candy Cubes are where it all started. There are a lot of memories in the whole process of how they were created; sleepless nights and impossible deadlines. I also really like that they have a life of their own. Once designed as a display for accessories for fashion house Céline and now used in really all kinds of interiors, as side tables or chairs and even on a pop star's stage (Lorde!). Vitra Design Museum has included 1 in their permanent collection in 2022.'

Favorite object from her home? "Our bed! We built it in the pandemic just after our son was born. Before this we had a futon, but no headboard, which is really a drama with a newborn and breastfeeding. Now the bed is so cosy. A play area during the day, a sitting area and in the summer we open the sliding doors to our patio. At night it's our bed, with the curtains closed. It's super flexible in function, as most in our home is - just like our lives. It grows with us. And is filled with work from our friends and from ourselves. Actually a great metaphor for our lifestyle, I think. I love that it's a great party house and at the same time can be super intimate if we draw the curtains and turn on the right lighting.'

Sabine is not sitting still. 'We are working on some big public installations. My collaboration with IKEA has just been launched and now we are back to the opposite. Unique site-specific and large artistic interventions. I think it's important to work very diverse. Then it stays exciting and challenging for myself and my team.'

Inspired? Follow Sabine Marcelis on Instagram.