White Lights

Wästberg, a new Swedish lighting manufacturer, unveiled its first collection in Stockholm last week, with task lights by Jean-Marie Massaud, Claisson Koivisto Rune, James Irvine, and Ilse Crawford. Since then Crawford’s lamp in particular—dubbed the Studioilse w08—has been getting a lot of attention on design blogs. I can see why: the mix of colors and […]

Wästberg, a new Swedish lighting manufacturer, unveiled its first collection in Stockholm last week, with task lights by Jean-Marie Massaud, Claisson Koivisto Rune, James Irvine, and Ilse Crawford. Since then Crawford’s lamp in particular—dubbed the Studioilse w08—has been getting a lot of attention on design blogs.


I can see why: the mix of colors and materials (porcelain shade, wooden arms, and iron base) is sophisticated yet playful. Crawford’s influences here would seem to be Lego blocks, Mondrian paintings, and the more pragmatic side of Droog. Suddenly my trusty Tolomeo looks like a staid relic of the machine age.

Devoted blog scrollers may be reminded of another recent task lamp with a similar aesthetic. The Dutch designer Dick Van Hoff debuted his Work collection for Royal Tichelaar Makkum in Milan last April. Like Crawford’s lamp, Van Hoff’s five desk products—two task lamps, a clock, a vase, and pen tray—are made with ceramics and natural wood.

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So far Wästberg—whose slogan is “Lamps for Offices, Hotels and Caves”—has yet to gain U.S. distribution, but Van Hoff’s collection is available stateside through Wabnitz Editions.

See also: Text Message: Ilse Crawford

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