Lasvit
Lasvit introduces new collections by design stars Maarten Baas and Maxim Velčovský at the Mint showroom in Knightsbridge. With the ‘Das Pop’ chandelier, Maarten Baas looks towards classic, recognisable shapes, yet with a modern and almost comic twist. Emphasising random shapes, it illustrates the personal and non-industrial feel of the product.
The Frozen collection by Maxim Velčovský is inspired by the transformation of water into ice, a moment paralleling the work of a glassmaker.
Ama by Anastassiades
Designer Michael Anastassiades’ collaboration with Flos, for an installation at the V&A museum. Suitably displayed among the museum’s historic riches, it pays homage to the Ama community in Japan - focussing on its fading tradition of skilled free-divers that search for pearls.
A Tribute to Light by Artemide
Artemide partnered with the Italian Consulate to present A Tribute to Light, an exhibition combining photography and lighting products that took over street level windows of the consualte building on Farringdon Street. The exhibition comprised a body of photos by world-famous photographer Elliot Erwitt, portraying leading architects who have collaborated with Artemide, alongside a selection of lighting best sellers and iconic products. It is a powerful homage to Artemide’s culture and philosophy of light over its 50 year history.
Gridlock Pendant
A series of lamps inspired by the Brutalist movement, Gridlock feels industrial in its straightforward, platonic forms and the repetitive efficiency of the grid; however, it is assembled entirely by hand from thousands of tiny brass parts. Introduced at London Design Festival, Decorex International, it serves as a reminder that the labour-saving dream of modernism is paid for in toil.
TOH
Designed by Raphal Navot, the TOH (Trigonometric Oval Hemisphere) explores the modular limits of the traditional prism chandelier. Introduced at the London Design Festival's Decorex International, the trihedral glass rods are individually beveled to follow the curves of the sculpted form. Light bounces between the tilted rods, spreading across the entire piece.
Volver
Designed for Terzani by Diego Bassetti and Andrea Panzieri, this geometric design combines thin chains and LEDs to create a light both elegant and modern - a melding of technology and art to new levels of luxury. The circular variant, displayed at London Design Festival, Decorex International, is 80cm / 31.5-inches. Bespoke options are also available.
Industrial Pendants
Elstead launched 52 industrial style pendants at Decorex as part of its 2014 collection. There were some great designs from US partners Hinkley, Feiss and Quoizel. Among them was the Ameila vintage pendant with an aged zinc finish and prismatic bottom lens.
Palme Harrods
This chandelier piece is a diminuative version of the famous Palme chandelier designed by Josef Hoffmann in 1914, exhibited at London Design Festival, Decorex International. Created from handformed sandcasted brass and crystal glass, this piece shares all the style of the original.
Lee Broom's Nouveau Rebel
British designer, Lee Broom, launched his new collection Nouveau Rebel at his flagship store cum design studio, featured in the Shoreditch Design Triangle. The range includes Globe, Tube and Chamber (pictured) - a pendant that seals a glowing core of marble within a capsule of glass.
Jon Male's Rebay
Pitfield London offered another opportunity to see the Rebay project, a lighting installation by designer Jon Male exploring the redistribution of used and unwanted glass lampshades, featured in the Shoreditch Design Triangle. Composed of original lighting sourced from eBay, each piece has been reconfigured into a new composition, according to a precise style and period.
Clouds
Gallery FUMI presented a solo exhibition of hand-blown glass works by Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert at the Shoreditch Design Triangle. Most eyecatching of them all was an installation of his piece Clouds - floating puffs of free-blown glass, created using the Filigrane technique. It combines the traditions of Murano glass blowing with a contemporary design perspective.
Burnished Indigo
A collaboration between James Plumb and artist William Waterhouse, Burnished Indigo embodies the fragile, fluid and organic beauty of a rare antique textile. Featured in the Shoreditch Design Triangle, the intricate finger pleating contrasts dramatically with the simple, graphic line of the steel arms. An ingenious simple mechanism allows the lamp to deliver a multidirectional light.
