Minimalist festive styling with Georg Jensen’s 2019 ‘Christmas Collectibles’

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I always enjoy getting creative and dressing my house in a different way each Christmas, but no matter what I do, a few much-loved decorations always take pride of place. They were gifts from my late grandmother, and we picked them out together after I told her how excited I was about putting up a Christmas tree in my first flat back in 2004. Over the years they’ve moved with me from home to home, and every December I look forward to getting the box down from the loft and unwrapping them from their tissue-paper nests. They instantly bring back memories of a wonderful and much-missed person, and they always make me smile.

The idea of having special Christmas decorations – decorations with meaning, that you can treasure and perhaps even pass on to future generations – is one of the reasons I’m drawn to Georg Jensen’s annual ‘Christmas Collectibles’. Every year since the 1980s, the Danish silverware and hollowware brand has released a limited-edition festive range, created by a different designer and produced for a short period only. The idea is that you choose a few each time around and gradually build up a selection of decorations that you love. Some people have been collecting them from the start, and I have Danish friends who speak fondly of their favourites from childhood; a few have even inherited them from parents or grandparents.

This year’s ‘Christmas Collectibles’ were designed by long-term Georg Jensen collaborator Sanne Lund Traberg, who blended traditional festive motifs (hearts, stars, bells) with clean, geometric lines inspired by the Art Deco and Cubist movements. The result is a selection of elegant, minimalist and slightly abstract tree ornaments, freestanding sculptures and tea-light holders, all made in Denmark and plated with 18kt gold or silver-coloured palladium. They fit brilliantly into contemporary homes, but they also have a timeless, classical air about them and I don’t think they’ll ever really date.

The whole range is beautiful, but my favourites are the cut-out ornaments and a trio of cut-out ‘table trees’. I normally have cool metals only in my home, but I always think it’s nice to introduce some warmer tones at Christmas and I really like how the gold and palladium versions look when mixed together. I’ve used them here to create a minimalist setting for festive meals, dangling the ornaments from birch branches arranged in a vase and dotting the trees along the length of the table with plenty of flickering candles.

The hanging ornaments all come with a luxurious red or blue ribbon or a matching chain, but I chose to use white sewing thread as it’s almost invisible, making the stars appear as if they’re hovering among the branches. I love the way they catch the light from the flames as they dance slowly in the air, and the way they cast a bit of sparkle around the room. The overall look is simple and understated, but I like to think it still has a bit of Christmas magic.

What impresses me most about this year’s ‘Collectibles’, though, is their versatility. When they’re not in use on the table, they look fantastic adorning fireplaces and shelves – or hanging on the tree, of course! You could even give them as presents, perhaps placing one on each person’s napkin or tying them to ribbons when gift-wrapping. They truly are decorations that can be used in all sorts of different ways and cherished for decades to come.

Shop the full ‘Christmas Collectibles’ range here – prices start at £15. And if you want more inspiration on how to style them, take a look at Georg Jensen’s dedicated Pinterest board.

Images two, three and four via Georg Jensen; all other photography by Abi Dare