Hi, my name is Tanja Prlincevic and I am the owner of Light Codes Studio.
The reason there are so many consonants in my last name is that I am originally from Serbia, which used to be part of Yugoslavia. It was not exactly the calmest place to grow up during my teenage years, so after finishing my degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Belgrade, I moved to Canada.
My brother was already living in Vancouver, and through him I found a job with a giftware company. I worked in both sales and purchasing, which meant a ridiculous amount of travel. I spent months at a time going between factories, trade shows, stores and customers in Japan, China, Germany, France and all over the United States.
I loved the travel, especially seeing how differently people live, work, make things and sell things. I also learned a lot about products: how they are designed, how they are manufactured, why some sell and others just sit there, and how many completely unnecessary things are produced simply because somebody thinks the world needs one more version of the same thing.
Eventually, I started my own company.
Over the years I sold many different kinds of giftware, but the part I always cared about most was creating products. That is still the part that fully engages me. I can spend an unreasonable amount of time thinking about a shape, a colour, a material, a scent, a printing method or some tiny detail that most people would probably never notice.
But I notice it.
Light Codes Studio came from that part of me.
Right now, I work mainly with candles, although I do not think of them as just candles. I am interested in the whole object: the artwork, the shape, the scent, the wax, the flame, the packaging and how all of it works together.
Some of my collections are created in collaboration with artists. Others begin with geometry, optical patterns, sound, movement or an image that gets stuck in my head and refuses to leave until I figure out what to do with it.
My chemistry background is still useful because I need to understand what materials are made of and how they behave. I cannot simply accept that something “works.” I need to know why it works, what is in it and what will happen when I mix it with something else.
This is occasionally useful and occasionally exhausting.
I also think mainly in images. I often see the object in my head before I know how to make it. Then comes the interesting part: trying things, ruining things, changing the method, trying again and eventually getting the physical object to look like the one I saw.
I also have an MBA, although I am not sure that is something I should admit in public.
I am endlessly curious, stubborn when I can see that an idea has potential, and almost completely unable to leave a design problem alone once it gets my attention. I do not like making things simply because similar things are selling.
There is already enough stuff in the world.
A new product should at least bring something new to the table.
That is what I am trying to do with Light Codes Studio.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end.
