PHILIPPI : Pueblo

Tea Light Forest

A little village switches on the lights

Between fir trees and tiny houses, the first lights begin to glow – and suddenly the evening has its own miniature setting. The PHILIPPI PUEBLO tealight forest brings together Christmas decoration, candle holder and lantern in a three-dimensional arrangement made from brown powder-coated steel and glass. Abstract houses and fir trees rise from the elongated base, their windows, doors and small openings cut into the metal, while several tealights sit between them in glass holders. Once the candles are lit, their glow shines through the silhouettes and openings, constantly changing the character of the scene. It almost looks as though someone in the little village is still awake. Measuring 31 cm long, 13 cm wide and 22 cm high, PUEBLO has enough presence to create a small winter landscape on a sideboard, console, windowsill or generous dining table. At the same time, its pared-back design keeps the overall effect calm rather than overly decorative. The PHILIPPI candle holder weighs 1.3 kg and is made in China. Brown instead of traditional Christmas red, steel rather than glitter: PUEBLO takes a pleasingly grown-up approach to seasonal decoration.

Winter has found somewhere to stay

PUEBLO comes to life through the interplay of material, silhouette and candlelight. During the day, its houses and fir trees form a graphic little landscape; after dark, the tealights take over, bringing movement and warmth to the cut-out shapes. That transformation is a large part of its charm. It feels unmistakably at home during Christmas without relying on the most obvious festive motifs. The warm brown finish of the powder-coated steel is understated and easy to combine with timber, natural colours, evergreen branches, linen and soft cream textiles. On a sideboard, the tealight forest needs very little company. On a winter dining table, it can become the centre of the setting when given enough space around it. The glass tealight holders add transparency to the darker steel construction and allow the candlelight itself to remain the focus.

A tiny village with a PHILIPPI point of view

PUEBLO is designed by PHILIPPI, an owner-managed design company headquartered in Henstedt-Ulzburg near Hamburg. From its northern German roots, the company has grown into an internationally represented brand creating home accessories, gifts and objects for travel and the office. PHILIPPI develops its own collections and works with materials including stainless steel, iron, ceramics, wood and leather. The clear visual language associated with many of its designs is easy to recognise in the PUEBLO tealight forest: houses and trees are reduced to characteristic silhouettes, leaving the candlelight to tell the rest of the story. Jan Philippi points to the brand's international presence in destinations including the Museum of Modern Art, Harrods, Takashimaya and KaDeWe. At LIVOSY, selected PHILIPPI vases, bowls and picture frames sit alongside barware and seasonal pieces. We particularly like the idea behind designs such as PUEBLO: decoration does not have to be loud to change the atmosphere of a room.

Christmas, just a little less obvious

The brown PUEBLO tealight forest feels particularly natural among warm, tactile materials. Place it on a timber sideboard, on a table dressed with pale linen or among a few evergreen branches and carefully chosen Christmas ornaments. Glass and restrained metallic details work equally well, reflecting the candlelight without competing with the silhouettes. For a more minimal seasonal setting, simply let PUEBLO stand on its own: houses, trees and a handful of tealights already create plenty of atmosphere. It can also be combined with other PHILIPPI Christmas accessories or a simple decorative bowl to build a larger winter arrangement without filling every available centimetre. In that way, a candle holder becomes a miniature landscape for the darker months. And a few tealights become an evening scene surprisingly quickly.