NYC Scented Trashbag Candle | NYC x DESIGN x Souvenir
Oculus Manhattan | NYC x DESIGN | May 12 - 21 | 2025
Annabelle Schneider’s work has been selected for the 2025 NYCxDESIGN x Souvenir exhibition—one of the most anticipated showcases of the NYCxDESIGN Festival, celebrating 72 visionary designers who reimagine what a New York souvenir can be.
Among the playful, provocative, and poetic pieces on view, Annabelle presents her boldest commentary yet: the NYC Trashbag Candle. What looks like a glossy black garbage bag hides a secret—light it, and an unexpected golden treasure begins to emerge. A cheeky homage to the city’s grit, excess, and glamour, the piece transforms disposable culture into a moment of ritual, scent, and storytelling.
Catch this collectible object—and the city’s spirit—on view at The Canvas Gallery at the Oculus.
Date: May 12 - 21, 2025
Hours: daily from 11:00am - 7:00 pm
Opening Preview + Reception:
Thursday, May 15
10:00 am
Evening Reception:
Saturday, May 17
from 5:00 pm - 7:00pm
Address:
The Canvas at the Oculus
185 Greenwich St Ground Floor (C2)
South Concourse
>> PRESSKIT
“In a city defined by speed and excess, this candle asks us to slow down and reconsider what we consume and discard. — Trash or Treasure? — It’s a meditation on decay, resilience, and presence—wrapped in something playful, familiar, and strange. The NYC Trashbag Candle is a scented sculpture and a souvenir of contradiction, featuring a golden brass rat as a treasure emerging from the slow burning process.”
NYC TRASHBAG CANDLE - A SOUVENIR OF WASTE AND WONDER
Official NYCxDESIGN Souvenir 2025 · Limited Edition Launch
Towering piles of black trash bags—stacked in chaotic yet familiar formations—define the urban fabric of New York City. The NYC Trashbag Candle is a provocative and playful reflection on capitalism, waste, and the aesthetic potential of discarded things. It poses a timely question about our patterns of consumption: Slow or fast? Treasure or trash?
Designed as both an art object and a conceptual souvenir, the candle transforms an everyday urban imprint into something intimate and precious. Its sculptural form mirrors the way garbage naturally accumulates on sidewalks—layered, imperfect, fleeting. As it burns, the candle slowly collapses, distorting the neat stack and releasing a rich fragrance that contrasts its raw appearance.
In its final stage, the candle reveals a golden metal rat—a glimmering relic of the city’s underworld and a lasting symbol of what remains when everything else has burned away.
This object is not just a candle—it’s a narrative artifact. A sensory meditation on time, speed, and presence. In a city defined by relentless motion, it offers a counterpoint: an invitation to pause, to reflect, to find warmth in stillness. A souvenir that captures the paradox of New York itself—fast and slow, chaotic and beautiful, disposable and unforgettable.
MATERIAL
The NYC Trash Bag Candle is made from soy waxes, repurposing discarded materials to give trash a second life in an unexpected form. Infused with a distinctive scent, the candle transforms perceptions of waste, engaging not only the eye but also the senses. As it burns, its sculptural layers melt and shift, releasing a fragrance that contrasts with its visual inspiration—turning an emblem of urban excess into an intimate, contemplative experience. Blurring the line between disposable and desirable, the candle becomes a paradox in itself: both repulsive and alluring, fleeting and lasting, fast and slow.
- Candle: Black Soy-wax
- Rat: Gold Brass
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Fragrance Option 1: Cashmere Musk
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Fragrance Option 2: Leather and Labdanum
DIMENSIONS
Trio Trashbag Candle:
12. 9 cm H x 18.2 cm W x 18.5 cm D
5.1’’ H x 7.2’’ W x 7.3’’ D
Date: May 15-21, 2025
Time: 11am - 7pm daily
Winner of: NYC x DESIGN x Souvenir
Partners: Coolhunting, Boym Partners (Exhibition Design)
Sponsored by: Kikkerland Design
Category: Things I built | Multisensorial Experience
Photography: Jurate Veceraite
Location: The Canvas at the Oculus, 185 Greenwich St Ground Floor (C2), New York City
Press: NYCxDESIGN 2025, Coolhunting