Thanks to advancements in technology and innovations in craft, lighting is undergoing something of a revolution. Here, we profile seven designers and brands, including Sabine Marcelis and Tala, that are leading the charge...
Aristotelis Barakos
Born into a tailoring dynasty in 1984, this Athens-based creative brings a deep-rooted attention to detail to his lighting designs. A former physics student, Barakos worked in tech startups in San Francisco and Shenzhen before launching his eponymous studio in 2020. Now available in the UK via design platform Tollgard, his work is driven by a commitment to creating ‘honest, functional, and aesthetically timeless objects that elevate everyday life and resonate emotionally’.
Every piece is handmade, rooted in traditional techniques and crafted in considered materials. Collaboration is selective and only with small local studios and skilled artisans, to maintain the highest standards of quality. His latest collection ‘Petale’ (pictured, approx £455 per pendant) draws on the Greek word petalon, meaning both a plant leaf and a thin metal plate. Two circles of metal enfold a cylindrical spotlight, creating an illusion of flatness that shifts with perspective. The curved surfaces capture light, while the gentle rotation of the pendants in the air creates a mesmerising visual effect. aristotelisbarakos.com
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Sabine Marcelis for Mathmos
Everyone’s favourite psychedelic design classic has grown up. The latest version of the Mathmos lava lamp can be ordered in sizes up to a whopping 296 centimetres tall. Titled ‘Column’, it is part of the third collection by Sabine Marcelis and, like its predecessors, it features the designer’s distinctive take on colour and texture. ‘I always wanted to design a giant lava lamp,’ says Marcelis. ‘In my very first meeting with Mathmos, I imagined creating a room filled with towering versions. That dream is now becoming reality.’
Though much larger than her two table editions, the floor-to- ceiling iteration maintains the original lamp’s familiar fluid and calming power. Through the slender cylinder of frosted boroscilliate glass, you can watch the mixture of coloured wax and clear liquid softly rising and sinking in a choice of three hues: ‘Bubblegum’ pink, ‘Peach’ orange and a light green (pictured) called ‘Honeydew’. The illuminated section is sandwiched between an aluminium base and cap that is sprayed in a matte-white paint finish in the Mathmos factory in Dorset. In addition to ‘Column’, a limited edition of just 1,000 ‘Astro’ table lamps in the ‘Honeydew’ shade (£170) are available for collectors who wish to complete the set. ‘Column’ floor lamp (pictured), £8,500. mathmos.com
Lost Profile
This Fitzroy-based design, lighting and antiques company was founded in 2017 by multidisciplinary artist Oliver Wilcox. It has since become the go-to furniture and accessories shop for Melbourne’s style set. Earlier this year, the brand landed in the UK at design destination The Specified, where you can find furniture, homeware, hardware and glorious lighting, such as the grand ‘Covenant Capsule’ pendant light (pictured in the background, approx £22,300), which takes its visual cues from snakes’ vertebrae.
Everything Wilcox designs is inspired by ‘the blending of decoration with the utility of industrial styles’, he says. ‘I try to integrate angles and curves into my products that are reminiscent of the art deco style – I love that the movement is now more than 100 years old, yet still aesthetically so relevant.’ Standout works from this year’s new range include the ‘Remant’ wall sconce (pictured right, from approx £990), the organic shape of which is inspired by fossilised clam shells. Each one is made to order in aluminium or bronze, with a dark patina that lends it a vintage look. lostprofile.net
Ozone
Few lighting brands possess the technical prowess of Ozone. The company, which strips back lighting to pure geometry and finesse, was founded in Paris by former engineers Etienne Gounot and Eric Jähnke. The two met at neighbouring desks in an industrial company before leaving the corporate world. Since 2000, they have quietly built a reputation for designs that integrate seamlessly into high-end retail spaces, including an Hermès store in Paris and an Elie Saab flagship, as well as stylish residential projects.
Everything is designed and made in their Paris atelier using robust yet refined materials, such as alabaster, bronze and brushed nickel. Advanced LED systems, especially the brand’s ‘dim to warm’ technology (it mimicks a halogen bulb, the glow from the lights getting more yellow as they are dimmed), ensure that each piece behaves with softness and subtlety. Pictured (right) with the ‘Brasilia’ table lamp by Michel Boyer (from approx £5,500), Gounot and Jähnke are perhaps best known for collaborations with architects, from Joseph Dirand to Pierre Yovanovitch and Glenn Sestig – talent choices that cement Ozone’s status as a favourite of interior designers around the world. ozonelight.com
Magic Circus Editions
Launched by Marie-Lise Féry in 2015, this lighting brand was born from a desire to bring character, drama and theatre into interiors. ‘I want to reinterpret decorative forms of the 20th century and create a living link between past and present. I work with balance and lightness – sometimes on a monumental scale – to offer theatrical, playful, even magical pieces that always aim to surprise,’ the Paris-based designer says. To mark its 10th anniversary, Féry has this year unveiled ‘The Grand Show’ – a six-piece tribute to emotion, memory and materiality.
Central to the collection is the sculptural ‘Celebration’ chandelier (pictured, from £15,396), a design that sees a kaleidoscope of colour combine with an arresting form. Exploding around a gilded brass core, the luminous prongs of coloured glass dazzle in sugared pink, azure blue, indigo, orange, soft violet and jade green. Handcrafted in Europe by master artisans, each of the glass cones transforms light into beautiful reflections and together lend this anniversary piece a truly celebratory look. magic-circus.fr
Studio Luddite
‘Our name is a subtle tribute to the Luddite movement, which was established in the 19th century by artisans who fiercely defended the value of handmade craft in the face of industrialisation,’ says Lex Zee of his New York-based lighting brand, which recently illuminated the walls of Goop’s new Colorado store.
Studio Luddite’s work centres on expertly crafted utilitarian objects made from enduring raw materials such as leather, oak, walnut wood and natural stone. Emphasis is placed on manufacturing techniques, resulting in tactile works that play with form and shape. Think smooth stone slabs as wall sconces and weighty, bulbous table lamps like the ‘Ramson’ (pictured, approx £2,315). All of its metal finishes start with solid brass, which is then hand-oxidised and completed in either aged or blackened finishes. The brand’s lights are to rooms what jewellery is to the body: much like heirloom gems, these pieces are designed to be passed on to future generations. studioluddite.com
Thomas Heatherwick for Tala
Long admired for its commitment to thoughtful design, British brand Tala has launched its first smart-lighting product in partnership with a legend of design, Thomas Heatherwick (the creative mind behind London 2012’s Olympic Cauldron, Coal Drops Yard and New York’s Vessel). Arriving just as the most difficult season for sufferers of seasonal-affective disorder begins, ‘Wake’ (£255) responds to shifting sleep habits, particularly our modern dependence on smartphones.
Part alarm clock, part bedside light, it emits a gentle glow that fades out at night and slowly brightens in the morning to support circadian rhythms. It can also play calming sounds, such as rainforest recordings. ‘We wanted to design something to help us banish our phones from our sacred space – the bedroom,’ explains Heatherwick. ‘Wake’ is crafted in hand-glazed ceramic and glass, with no buttons or flashing lights – to adjust the brightness you twist the base like a dial. ‘“Wake”,’ Heatherwick says, ‘uses light, touch and sound to rid ourselves of plastic devices and, instead, restores sleep to its rightful place in our lives.’ tala.co.uk
