LIGHT YEARS NIGHT OWL & SUSPENCE
Danish lighting house Light Years have been busy of late, offering two new designs to their iconic collection.
The first, Night Owl, designed by Nicholai Wiig Hansen is a table lamp with its own personality. Night Owl features an adjustable shade and is available in midnight blue and smokey white. The second, Suspence, designed by GamFratesi, is a collection inspired by the translation of movement into a physical shape. Suspence has natural, soft curves which are complemented by the seamless and uninterrupted join of the shade and cord.
NIGHT OWL
Nicholai Wiig Hansen’s inspiration for designing the Night Owl table lamp was the desire to create a Nordic warm and cosy wash of light. The design is effortless and expresses that this is an informal table lamp. It consists of a conical base and oval shade, merging together to form a single unit of balanced proportions. Its organic design gives the lamp a friendly and almost human appearance – it’s a lamp with a personality! The names of the colours are inspired by nature: midnight blue after the infinity blue tone of the sky at twilight; and smokey white after the glowing light of a full moon. Night Owl casts a warm and pleasant downward light. The asymmetric shade provides an oval diffusion of the light. The shade can be placed in four different positions, allowing the black cable to exit the lamp in the desired direction. Night Owl is suitable for standing on a sideboard, shelf, bedside table or in a window.
DESIGNER: NICHOLAI WIIG HANSEN
The influence of the artistic childhood home no doubt plays a major role in Nicholai Wiig Hansen’s approach to design. His mother was an accomplished ceramic artist and potter, and his father was the world-renowned painter and sculptor Svend Wiig Hansen. Art and design have always been an important part of Nicholai Wiig Hansen’s life. With a hard-wired curiosity, a pronounced desire to create, and great enthusiasm, Nicholai Wiig Hansen has never had any doubts that he would work as a designer. At the age of only 26, he established his own design studio. He works with many different tasks, all of which are based on his own needs and preferences.
Light has always been a natural interest to him. The interest goes all the way back to his childhood, when after darkness broke out it was difficult to see the many paintings on the walls by the light of the lamps. Light and darkness are a part of everyday life, and the need for functional lighting is essential. In his design for Lightyears, he has worked primarily with the function of light and to create an aesthetic balance in the proportions. Nicholai Wiig Hansen’s name universe is focused on his fascination with predators. Predators are beautiful, but neutral when they are in hiding mode, and only when they attack do they show their true nature. Lamps also only show their true nature when they are “in attack mode,” i.e. when they are turned on.
SUSPENCE PENDANT
GamFratesi’s inspiration for the Suspence lamp series has been translating a movement into a physical shape. The shape of the lamp has been created by pulling – an elementary movement involving physical force. This tensile force is visible at the top of the lamp, where you see the little tip. Suspence is organic with a natural, soft curve. Suspence pendant is designed with a monochrome look; the shade and cord are perceived as an uninterrupted whole. An infinity diffuser at the bottom of the lamp concentrates the light, prevents glare and contributes to creating an elegant optical illusion – hence the name infinity diffuser.
SUSPENCE FLOOR LAMP
Suspence Nomad is GamFratesi challenging conventional thinking in the area of lamp use. Nomad is designed to be placed on a horizontal surface e.g. a floor, staircase or terrace. It carries an appeal to be moved from place to place, without a permanent residence, just like a nomad. The lamp is easily moved by lifting the silicone handle at the top. Nomad is made of polyethylene, which is a tough material that gives off a soft, diffuse light – creating a cosy atmosphere.
DESIGNER: GAMFRATESI
Scandinavian functionalism and clear communication of the ideas behind the design are the key words for GamFratesi’s design. The design duo was formed in 2006, and consists of the Danish architect Stine Gam and the Italian architect Enrico Fratesi.
GamFratesi’s design takes its creative power from a fusion of tradition and innovation along with an experimental approach to the selected materials and techniques. With their cross-cultural background, Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi thus draw from both classic Danish design and the tradition of craftsmanship, and the classic Italian intellectual and conceptual approach. With their minimalist, refined and expressive design form, they are able to tell a unique story with their design. In the process of creating designs for Lightyears, GamFratesi has worked with a conceptual and functional approach to lighting.
Night Owl will be available to order from early November and Suspence is available for order now available through designFARM.