Marcus was a product designer obsessed with materials — the way copper oxidises, the way raw concrete holds light, the way aged leather tells the story of time. Elena was a photographer who had spent three years documenting industrial spaces in transition, finding beauty in rust and patina and the slow transformation of things.

They met at an exhibition of decommissioned factory photographs, standing in front of the same piece: a copper condenser pipe, backlit by a single tungsten bulb, casting light the colour of autumn.

Marcus said it reminded him of the early iPhone design process. Elena said it reminded her of morning light through old glass. They agreed to disagree over coffee, and never really stopped talking after that.