Project Focus Lina Stores, London, UK
https://vimeo.com/1092738869
Alessio Nardi of A-nrd Studio sits down with [d]arc media editor Sarah Cullen to discuss the design directive behind the stunning conversion of the historical grade II listed building, originally built in 1868 as a bank. The space is made up of a ground-floor all-day restaurant and a former vault basement, which takes on the persona of Bar Lina – an Italian aperitivo bar. Both with their own identities yet blending seamlessly as one.
WATG and Wimberly interiors appoint new senior leadership role
(USA) – Global luxury hospitality design firms WATG and Wimberly Interiors have announced the appointment of Molly O’Keefe as Associate Principal and Senior Director of Client Services.
O’Keefe brings over a decade of experience in design-led business development and will support the studios’ strategic growth and client engagement across the Americas. Although based in Chicago, she will collaborate closely with WATG and Wimberly Interiors offices in Tustin, Los Angeles, Dallas, Honolulu, and New York.
In her new role, O’Keefe will focus on enhancing industry relationships and expanding the firms’ project portfolios, with a particular emphasis on the luxury and lifestyle hospitality sectors. Her experience spans the intersection of design, brand strategy, and business development, and she is recognised for her ability to align creative vision with client objectives.
“I have respected WATG and Wimberly Interiors’ successes over the years, and I am honoured to be joining such an inspiring team that is pushing our industry forward, says O’Keefe. “I’m excited to harness the global power of the WATG brand and build upon significant achievements in the Americas, further cultivating our relationship and key partners and driving growth across our diverse portfolio of projects.”
Monica Cuervo, managing director of the Americas WATG and Wimberley Interiors, adds, “Molly is an exciting addition to our talented leadership roster. Her reputation, knowledge, global perspective, and deep immersion in the industry make her a trusted advisor across a range of market segments and brand categories. We welcome her to the studio and look forward to continuing to build our lifestyle and luxury offerings across the Americas.”
Contardi – Hat
(Italy) – Hat collection is the new lampshade archetype born from the collaboration of Italian lighting brand Contardi and designer Paola Navone of Otto Studio.
The lampshade is described as the perfect balance between past and present, drawing inspiration from the 1950s aesthetics and blending it with contemporary design. It comprises a floor, table, and pendant lamps, which are all unified by a white cotton or Tyvek lampshade. Each piece is accented with rope detailing, either wrapped around the metal stand of the table or the floor lamp or used as a suspension for the pendant version.
Dominico Diego of Otto Studio says: “We desired to create a versatile object that could fit harmoniously into context without losing its character. We wanted to design something that was both ordinary and extraordinary, combining simplicity and sophistication, with a playful touch.”
The option for customisation is available, allowing the collection to be adapted to multiple environments, from residential to hospitality.
Ambientec opens gallery in Tokyo’s AXIS Building
(Japan) – Ambientec opens its first Tokyo gallery on the second floor of the AXIS Building in Roppongi, a key hub for Japanese design, showcasing the brand’s portable lighting products as both functional and sensory.
Founded in Yokohama and led by president Yoshinori Kuno, Ambientec is an established brand for decorative lighting known for blending design and technical precision, drawing on its background in underwater photography equipment. The gallery, designed by Koichiro Oniki, takes a minimalist, science-lab approach, with modular displays and precise pin-shot lighting to highlight each product’s sculptural form. His vision - interpreting the product as a sculptural object - has been translated into a display inspired by the structure of a scientific showcase that, through a laboratory-like approach, allows visitors to experience how the light performs in real environments.
A temporary display also appeared on the fourth floor for the launch, featuring four new collections: Vosco by Nao Tamura, Barcarolle by Yoshiki Matsuyama, Still by Ryuichi Kozaki, and Hymn Pro by Hiroto Yoshizoe. Each was introduced to the Japanese public for the first time following previews at Euroluce 2025. During the opening event, a talk with the designers of each collection and Yoshinori Kuno, the brand’s founder and representative, was held.
The gallery is accessible via Shiro Kuramata’s distinct staircase and offers both public and industry visitors a quiet, tactile space for engaging with Ambientec’s vision of lighting.
Residential Lighting Trends
https://vimeo.com/1092112781
At this year's Clerkenwell Design Week, our panel of residential design experts discussed the latest challenges and trends within interior and lighting design for the home. Speakers include Joe Calver (Isla James Interiors), Toria Thorpe (Lighting by Plum) and, Jack Spivey (David Village Lighting)
Barovier&Toso appoints Luca Nichetto as Art Director
(Italy) – Barovier&Toso has appointed designer Luca Nichetto as its new Art Director, marking a major step in the brand’s strategic renewal. The move follows the recent hiring of the company’s first CEO, Andrea Signoroni.
Born in Murano and designer internationally recognised, Nichetto will oversee the evolution of Barovier&Toso’s visual identity, balancing the company’s 700-year heritage with a forward-thinking design approach. His role will cover product development, brand language, and the design of physical spaces.
“Ever since I was a child, Murano glass has been my first school – a living material capable of telling ancient stories and opening new horizons,” says Nicchetto. “Returning to Venice to take on the art direction of Barovier&Toso is deeply emotional for me; it feels like coming home.”
Signoroni says on the new appointment: “Nichetto’s contribution in creative and strategic terms will make a decisive contribution to strengthening the company’s positioning in the high-end segment.”
Early signs of the new direction were seen at Euroluce 2025 and in the redesign of the brand’s Venice boutique windows, both of which marked a first step towards a more contemporary and immersive narrative of the Barovier&Toso universe. The first collections under Nichetto’s direction will launch in early 2026, including new collaborations with international designers.
Clerkenwell Design Week Product Highlights
Junior Journalist, Ellie Walton, brings her annual product round-up from CDW25.
There was a time when Clerkenwell Design Week was just a quick stop on the calendar for the [d]arc media team – a flying visit, at most one day. Fast forward to today, and our presence has grown into a full-blown fixture, with our team immersed across three packed days. What began as a mission to scout the latest in decorative lighting has evolved into something much bigger: a full three-day talks programme at the House of Detention, multiple event partnerships, and a growing role in the wider festival narrative. Even with our name on the agenda, CDW remains a place of discovery. So once again, we’ve rounded up five products that made an impression.
Familiar faces and exciting newcomers filled House of Detention this year, kicking off with our long-time friends at Nordlux. A staple in that first vaulted chamber to the left, the Danish brand drew plenty of attention with its latest launch: the alabaster Glossy table lamp. Effortlessly stylish, it embodies Danish minimalism at its most refined. It was a treat to experience the lamp in person, especially after spotlighting it in our recent darc interview (issue #60) with founder Lone Penderson. Not only did Nordlux take home the Clerkenwell Design Award for lighting, but if there had been a prize for best tote bag, they’d have surely walked away with that too.
Another standout in the dungeons was Abalon Studio, led by the acclaimed designer and sculptor Ana Bridgewater. Her installation showcased a groundbreaking lighting piece crafted from bio Corallo – a newly developed 3D-printed material created in collaboration with studio Lowpoly. This pioneering porcelain-printable composite allows for intricate, sustainable design, aligning perfectly with Bridgewater’s ethos. Blending advanced material innovation with a biophilic design approach, the installation drew inspiration from the ocean’s fluidity. Organic forms unfolded into luminous sculptural arms, evoking the motion and elegance of underwater life. The result was both visually captivating and deeply intentional – a clear reflection of Bridgewater’s dedication to sustainability through low-impact materials and thoughtful production processes.
New to the show and coming all the way from the western hemisphere is Ro Sham Beaux, an American lighting brand that blends sustainability and craftsmanship into its lighting products. Founded in Charleston, the brand was turning heads with its array of hand-strung beads crafted from crystal, quartz, and post-consumer glass. darc’s personal favourite from the collection had to be the beautifully adorned Collette two-tier piece wall sconce, crafted with delicate chip quartz with a gold or nickel accent band as the finishing touch, which radiated sophistication and echoed the maritime energy of the brand’s coastal origins.
A fresh face at Light was North South Art and Design, a London-based furniture and lighting company focused on offering environmentally responsible and striking pieces. The brand’s work draws on the 400-year-old toy-making craft in India using sustainably harvested wood and dyed with non-toxic vegetable pigments to create bold and characterful designs. A standout piece was the Toli floor lamp, a striking sculptural statement that puts the interplay of light and shadow at eye level. Positioned along the route to the [d]arc thoughts space, it was nearly impossible to pass by without catching its dynamic presence out of the corner of your eye.
Meanwhile, on St John’s Street, there was quite the buzz in the J.Adams and Co showroom, which had plenty of new products that debuted during Milan Design Week. The British lighting brand showcased three new collections – Apex, Talbot and Strata. It was the Strata Circular, however, that truly stole the show. A bold new edition to the beloved Strata collection, pushing boundaries of fluted glass by transforming its linear form into a seamless halo. Available in a range of sizes, including an eye-catching two-tiered edition, it’s a dramatic statement piece, designed to elevate interiors with sculptural elegance and that essential wow factor.
Brokis expands two existing collections
(Czech Republic) – Czech lighting brand Brokis has introduced two new additions to its portfolio with Planets Mini and Night Birds Mini, both scaled-down versions of existing bestsellers designed for greater versatility in compact or custom interiors.
Planets Mini, by design duo Vrtiška & Žák, continues the original collection’s use of weights and pulleys for easy height adjustment. The smaller format allows for single or multi-light installations, with glass shapes offered in sphere, cone, and capsule forms. A new smoke brown matte finish joins the existing smoke grey and triplex opal matte options.
Night Birds Mini, designed by Boris Klimek, refines the motion of the original collection into a more compact format. Each pendant is handcrafted through a two-step glassmaking process, resulting in unique textures and forms. The collection includes three shapes representing different flight phases and now comes in white, dark, and recycled Brokisglass variants.
Both mini collections retain the visual identity of their larger counterparts while offering increased flexibility for interior designers and architects.
Graypants expands Levity Collection
(Europe) – Designed in collaboration with Dutch design duo Studio Truly Truly, the lighting brand unveiled its refined Levity series with the introduction of a brass collection.
Originally launched as a study in contrast and control, Levity combines rigid metal frameworks with soft, draped fabric diffusers, resulting in an interplay between structure and movement. The new brass edition amplifies this tension with a warmer, more opulent materiality, aligning visual softness with a sense of tactile richness.
The Levity collection includes three main model types: Halo, Arc, and Bow – each offering variations in shape and scale to suit different architectural and interior settings. The Halo pendants and Bow linear lights feature integrated LED tubes encased in flexible silicone, sheathed in a translucent textile that emits a gentle, diffused glow. These design elements give the fixtures a sculptural presence without overwhelming a space.
Available in two sizes, Halo180 and Halo215, the pendants can offer either a subtle accent or a bold centrepiece. The Bow120 and Bow160 fixtures, with their elongated forms, are well-suited for dining tables, conference rooms or open-plan settings, while the new Arc models (Arc80 and Arc130) introduce a curved geometry that softens the linearity of the collection.
The new brass finish adds a refined edge to the existing models, blending warmth with minimalism and extending the versatility of the collection for both residential and commercial applications.
The series highlights how flexible materials and integrated lighting technology can be composed into forms that feel as emotional as they are engineered.
www.graypants.eu
www.studiotrulytruly.com
Controvento collaborates with Diesel Living and Lodes
(Italy) - Multidisciplinary design collective, Controvento, co-founded by Verdiana Vannini and Gabriele Chiav, marks its collaboration with the high fashion brand Diesel and Italian lighting brand Lodes with a bold new suspension lamp, D-Burned, that merges fashion, material innovation, and lighting design.
Drawing on Diesel’s heritage and led by the brand’s creative director, Glenn Martens, D-Burned integrates devoré denim – a fabric technique typically associated with Martens' runway pieces – into the lighting world for the first time. The result is a pendant that visually expresses Diesel’s brand identity while exploring new material and conceptual territory for architectural lighting.
Controvento, based between Amsterdam and New York, was tasked with translating the fashion-forward DNA of Diesel into a spatial object. Known for its cross-disciplinary practice, the collective emphasises a pluralistic and collaborative approach, working across product design, art direction, and creative strategy.
The pendant’s name and aesthetic align with Controvento’s broader philosophy. In Italian, “controvento” refers to sailing against the wind, symbolising resistance to conformity and a pursuit of new perspectives. This theme resonates in the D-Burned design, which defies conventional lighting materials by introducing tactile textile narratives into a sculptural form.
By combining the visual codes of the runway with the technical precision of lighting, D-Burned illustrates how product design can serve as a bridge between disciplines and how reshaping identity is communicated in both domestic and commercial spaces.
Arkoslight introduces Warp by Geckeler Michels
(Spain) – Spanish lighting brand expands into the decorative lighting segment with the launch of Warp – a suspension luminaire developed in collaboration with Berlin-based design studio Geckeler Michels.
Defined by its purity of form and material lightness, Warp explores the interplay between tension, translucency, and gravity. The fixture starts from a simple circular base, and the textile shade is naturally pulled downward, forming an elegant, flowing silhouette. This organic transformation is central to the design concept: the lamp exists in its final form only once gravity is allowed to shape it.
Warp’s textile diffuser is both elastic and translucent, offering a filtered, ambient light effect while maintaining a visually lightweight profile. The use of a flat, integrated LED light source avoids the need for a visible bulb, allowing the continuous fabric surface to remain uninterrupted. The luminaire is available in two sizes and a single black colourway, and it ships flat, emphasising ease of transport and straightforward assembly.
The name “Warp” draws inspiration from astrophysics, referencing the distortion of space-time described in Einstein’s theory of relativity. The design metaphorically reflects the way gravity influences both space and form, an idea that plays out literally in the lamp’s suspended structure.
Designer Geckeler Michels explains,“Warp explores fluidity and transparency of the textile in a simple gesture. A clear and elegant manner, which highlights the behaviour of the material with light.”
Saule Collection by Larose Guyon
Discover the whimsical creation of the Saule Collection by Canadian studio Larose Guyon. The pendant that is redefining lighting as kinetic art, blending meticulous hand craftsmanship with poetic design to create pieces that move, shimmer, and transform the spaces it occupies.
Félix Guyon and Aubrée Larose, the visionary founders behind Larose Guyon, always knew they were destined for the world of design, long before their creative paths ever crossed. Their mutual fascination with light fixtures became the foundation of a partnership grounded in artistry, function, and emotion. For them, light is more than mere illumination; it’s poetry in its purest form.
This belief gave birth to Larose Guyon, a studio devoted to crafting handmade lighting pieces that embody the beauty of nature while forging a deeper connection between people and their environments. Their latest creation, the Saule collection, is a poetic interpretation of the willow tree, capturing its graceful movement through a whimsical, kinetic design.
The Saule is defined by its hand-shaped leaves that are suspended from elegant, curving brass arches, each crafted with care to reflect the gentle sway of willow branches. Inspired by the principle of equilibrium, similar to a baby’s mobile, the fixture responds softly to the surrounding air, casting mesmerising reflections as the brass leaves shimmer in motion. “We wanted to design a fixture to capture the essence of movement in a simple, natural way – just like the gentle rustling of wind through leaves,” says Guyon.
The kinetic element is a cornerstone of the Saule collection, imbuing each fixture with a sense of life and dynamism. The movement encourages interaction, allowing the light to breathe with its environment and subtly shifting the mood of the space it inhabits. The fixture’s organic elegance is amplified by the sculptural composition, where the brass arches rise like tree branches, bringing both volume and height.
“For a long time, we have wanted to incorporate mobility into our fixtures, to create a visual dance reminiscent of nature’s rhythm. The inspiration from the willow trees led us to explore designs that allow for movement within the light, reflecting the dynamic interplay between light and shadow,” says Larose. “Throughout the design process, we focused on capturing the essence of the willow tree’s beauty, ensuring that each piece in the Saule collection embodies grace while providing functional lighting. This journey has not only elevated our artistry but also reinforced our commitment to creating designs that connect with nature’s poetry.”
Adding to the fixture’s delicate balance is a soft pink glass globe, which serves as the light source. Paired with a smaller, suspended globe, this design detail is evocative of delicate ripened fruit and introduces gentle warmth and depth. The subtle contrast of glass and metal adds complexity and charm – each choice in material is thoughtfully considered to elevate the composition.
Creating Saule was a year-long endeavour filled with exploration and refinement. The design process guided by a desire to echo nature’s forms and imperfections, embracing asymmetry, texture, and movement. Jewellery-like details, including brass chains and golden finishes, enhance its overall aesthetic, resulting in pieces that feel both precious and grounded.
Each brass leaf is meticulously handcrafted in Larose Guyon’s Verchères studio, where their team of artisans shape the metal to evoke the fluidity of nature. The process is detailed and time-intensive, beginning with the selection of high-quality materials and continuing through refined techniques that produce rich textures and lifelike forms. Much like fine jewellery-making, the work requires exceptional precision, care, and an artistic eye. “Each leaf is treated like a miniature sculpture,” the team explains, “imbued with both artistry and intention.”
The process of creating the leaves begins with a tightly woven fabric made from brass fibres. Each leaf is individually hand-cut, ensuring that no two pieces are alike. Once cut, the leaves are pressed into a custom-designed mould, created by Guyon and 3D printed in-house, to imprint a rich, textured surface. After moulding, every leaf is hand-shaped to create a natural, organic flow, allowing the brass fabric to move and settle like real foliage. This meticulous, hands-on process highlights the craftsmanship at the heart of Saule, bringing a sense of authenticity to each fixture.
Maintaining consistency while honouring the individuality of each handcrafted element is a balance Larose Guyon has refined over the past decade. Their experienced team adheres to rigorous quality standards without compromising the organic beauty that makes each piece unique. The result is lighting that transcends function – each fixture is a shimmering work of art.
Available in a variety of sizes and configurations, the Saule collection was designed with versatility in mind. This stems from the founders’ backgrounds in interior design and their deep understanding of spatial needs.
“We understand the importance of adaptable design,” they note. “By offering multiple variations, Saule can seamlessly integrate into a range of interiors, from expansive entryways to cosy, intimate spaces.”
Larose adds: “When it comes to design, there are no strict rules. That’s the beauty of using our pieces, they can elevate and transform any space.”
This adaptability is key to Saule’s charm. Envisioned as the “jewellery of interior spaces,” the collection enhances any room much like a statement necklace elevates an outfit. Whether placed in minimalist, modern, rustic, or eclectic settings, the fixture’s fluid elegance transcends stylistic boundaries. The founders add, “our pieces are made to transform and elevate any environment.”
At its heart, Saule is designed to inspire. It invites people to pause, reflect, and connect both with nature and with the artisanal craftsmanship behind each detail. The hope is that every piece sparks a sense of wonder, offering a serene and timeless presence that lingers long after the light is switched off. With Saule, Larose Guyon captures nature’s poetry in motion and brings it into the home.
Images: Larose Guyon, Chanel Sabourin
