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Let there be light P
ick a centuries-old tradition, modernise it, and collaborate with superstar designers – this seems to be Lasvit’s formula for success. And for the seven-year-old Czech brand, the mixture of craftsmanship and technology proves to be powerful. Lasvit – named after the portmanteau for the Czech translation of ‘love of light’ – is now on the cutting-edge of what CEO Leon Jakimic calls contemporary glass. At the heart of the company’s pieces is Bohemian glass, a traditional product in Jakimic’s hometown of Bohemia. Produced as early as the 13th century, the Czech hand-blown glass is being modernised by Jakimic’s more than 500 employees, with the help of artists and designers combining technology and lighting innovations with the decorative craft. Thanks to its breathtaking designs and mastery of glass, Lasvit has established itself as a force to reckon with in terms of bespoke lighting sculptures and art installations. Its lighting fixtures are illuminating
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A Czech design company pushes the boundaries of glass, says Nelissa Hernandez hotels from Seoul to Las Vegas’s Cotai Strip, with the most notable being its collaboration with Tokyobased designer Oki Sato. Growing Vases, an installation shaped like bulbs hanging from the ceiling, adorns a restaurant at Le Méridien Zhengzhou in China. It is an ode to the “quixotic appeal of glass as something impractical and incomplete yet provides a breath of fresh air and opens up new possibilities”. One of the company’s most talked-about creations is Alice (pictured left), which debuted in Milan Design Week in 2013. Crafted in collaboration with designer Petra Krausova and inspired by the fragility of flowers and glass, this kinetic glass chandelier resembles an upside-down lotus flower. It has 28 LEDs that can be controlled by an iPhone app, and they ‘open’ and ‘close’ synchronised with the music. In December 2014, the light installation was exclusively displayed at Macsk, a highend furniture retail shop in Singapore, with a hefty tag of US$500,000. lasvit.com