Pendel

Frida Kaffebar wanted a pendant that would read at distance through the windows of their three Stockholm locations — bright enough to be visible from the street at dusk, restrained enough not to compete with the rest of the room.

The brief was specific: a 36 cm spun-aluminum shade with a deep curve inside and a flat exterior, in two finishes (satin and lightly hammered). The cord had to be linen-wrapped because Frida’s interior designer hated rubber cable.

Manufacturing

Spun by a third-generation aluminum spinner outside Helsingborg who does most of his work for the kitchenware industry. The first batch took three rounds of mock-up to land the curve — the spinning process favors gentle radii, and the original drawing asked for a sharper transition than the metal wanted to give.

Cord assembled and wired in the studio. Brass cord-grips and ceiling canopies are off-the-shelf; the studio specs them rather than re-tooling for an in-house equivalent that would cost three times as much without a meaningful improvement.

Forty units in the first run; another sixty for a second café earlier this year. Available through Frida’s online shop in limited quantity.