Master Glass

Atmosphere | Karman “Every single blade of grass is meant for at least one drop of dew,” says Matteo Ugolini, quoting a Chinese proverb that was his inspiration for this new outdoor/indoor floor lamp. The stem, available in different heights, is a knurled fiberglass bar painted in white or black, placed on a round metal base (with additional ground support to protect the swaying effect), while the drop is a spherical reflective orb made of PVC.

www.karmanitalia.it

Akoya | RBW Named after the saltwater cultured pearl from the akoya oyster, the pendant form arose from the “caught pearl.” The hand-blown, opal glass bulb has been re-engineered with improved technical capabilities and more refined perforations to its sheer, spun-aluminum shade (now being produced in Canada), creating the appearance of weightlessness. www.RBW.com

Visio | Masiero There is a distinctive nod to Surrealism in this new collection, given how many ways one can configure and reconfigure the facial geometries. Designed by young Italian duo Nava + Arosio, polished chocolate-coloured painted metal tubing is curved to replicate mouths, noses, ears and eyes either in the form of suspensions or as wall compositions. www.masierogroup.com

Edie Pendant | Lightmaker Studio The Kingston, Ont.-based studio has added a new pendant version to their Edie Lighting Series, pairing two similar forms in glass that is hand-blown and hand-finished in Ontario. Vintage or blackened brass metals use solid brass as a foundation and a contrasting black-and-white colour scheme evokes a Bauhaus sensibility. www.lightmakerstudio.com

Shuttle | Prandina Designed by Marco Alessi, the portable table version is an attractive addition to outdoor settings, with a rechargeable battery capable of eight hours of LED light diffusion across various intensities. The diffuser comes in transparent or opal white blown glass with a structure in painted metal. A suspension version for indoor use is also available. www.prandina.it

Hover | Lodes Designed by Tokyo-based studio YOY, the new collection of table and floor lamps fulfills its appellation with a lampshade that appears detached from the base. The balloon-like light source appears to float weightlessly, connected by a single cable wrapping down to the power source. A dimmer controlled by a power switch is placed on the upper end of the stem, but other functional elements typically applied externally are integrated into the lamp’s internal structure. www.lodes.com

Pix | Normann Copenhagen Debuted at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, this reinterpretation of the archetypical spherical pendant lamp still uses a recognizable globe silhouette but with a new surface treatment derived from recycled plastic waste. The production process granulates and mixes plastic in various shades of white, then heats it to a melting point of 120°, allowing the material to be reheated and reused at the end of its life without altering its properties. www.normann-copenhagen.com

Bul-Bo Mini | Axolight The original floor lamp version, designed by Studio Gabetti & Isola back in the early 1970s, has earned a bit of a following. So naturally Axolight wants to keep the love coming and has released a new table version, designed by Fabrizio Pellegrino and Lodovico Gabetti, now with several high-tech updates, including the addition of an adjustable swivel and an LED source instead of the original incandescent bulb. The rest remains the same: the onion-shaped base in black eco-leather, filled with marble granules, and tiltable shaft in aluminum terminates with the laser-cut silhouette of a lightbulb. www.axolight.it

Perpetua | Bronzetto Designer Valeria Giuva’s unmistakable inspiration for this new line was the water drop (the name comes from the water nymphs of Greek mythology, after all), represented beautifully in a blown glass globule that hides an LED light source and embellished with a decorative brass element, available in a smoothor raw texture in four motifs. www.ilbronzetto.com

Woody | Ethimo This new lamp created by Marc Sadler is designed to illuminate outdoor areas in private homes, contract and hotel settings, and brings suffused light to gardens and patios in the evening. At 152cm, its slender tripod structure made entirely from FSC-certified teak holds a shade with a volume dictated by the ‘rhythm’ of strips placed close together that filter and diffuse the light between their gaps. www.ethimo.com

The Comforts of Home, But With A View

After exploring the idea of opening a small showroom or pop-up store somewhere in the downtown core, Le Studio, the decorative division of LumiGroup architectural, Québec’s largest lighting agency representing lighting and furniture manufacturers from both the province and rest of the world, ultimately decided on an 18th floor VIP Showroom located in a condominium tower in the Old Montréal district. The new 2,400-sq.-ft. showroom designed by Imperatori Design has the unique distinction of forming part of an actual living space.

“While the idea is quite unique, the general concept fits into a larger trend that we have been seeing post-pandemic, where the lines between commercial and residential design are closing,” says Chantal Ladrie, project manager and senior designer at Imperatori Design.

“On a daily basis, we are being asked to infuse more of a home feel into office designs in order to smooth transitions back to the office.”

The original layout of the condominium was conducive to a central showroom. An open core leads straight through living and dining room areas towards a wall of expansive windows. Creating a central standalone gas fireplace, clad in hot roll metal sheets, Imperatori Design delineated a living room populated with Moooi furnishings (a brand that Le Studio represents) from the dining room and open kitchen, which includes an expansive black marble centre island that can double as a chef’s table for special events. Then, of course, come the lighting collections which take centre stage: chandeliers illuminate the entrance and dining room spaces, while multiple configurations deployed in other spaces can be easily exchanged for other brands.