Let There Be Light

Entrepreneur and 2016 Gen.t lister Marisa Teo why she is looking for unique illumination tells Hong Xinyi

hat is it like to grow up as the daughter of society fundraiser Peggy Jeffs? For starters, says Marisa Teo, Singapore Tatler was a big part of her childhood. “While others had storybooks, I was very fortunate to have my mum showing me countless issues of Tatler, and where she was featured. She would share with me the various contributions and success stories of the people she met, and it was certainly an encyclopedia of high society living.” Marisa’s ties with Tatler have endured— this friendly entrepreneur was part of the inaugural Gen.t list in 2016, lauded for developing innovative lighting brand Maerich. Indeed, as a third-generation member of a family steeped in the lighting business, Marisa can talk about the quality of illumination all day long. For her, good lighting must accurately show the true colour of the objects being lit, and have minimal glare and optimal wavelengths so it doesn’t tire your eyes. Once, she even left a dining venue due to inferior light quality, because everyone in her party were fellow lighting experts and they simply couldn’t bear it. “Everyone was in the know and so sensitive to poor lighting,” she shares with a laugh. “Of the countries I have visited, I personally feel that Japan seems to be most sensitive towards good light control in terms of intensity and glare. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive or modern establishment, they just seem to be able to ensure the lighting is comfortable and considerate. I think this could be due to their civic-minded nature and attention to detail.” Marisa was formerly in banking, and she joined her family business with the intention of learning how to run a company. What she realised from selling European lighting brands was that there was a gap in the market for customised products. “There were many suggestions from architects and designers about design improvements and a wish list of additional features,” she explains. “To meet such expectations, we needed full control over the design and manufacturing process.” Thus, Maerich was born. The brand allows clients to choose different combinations of glass plates, functionalities and luxurious finishes. “Standard light products are built one way and that’s it. Ours give a lot of flexibility for demanding applications, and lighting consultants are able to make them a part of their design process.” Marisa was adamant from the start about targeting a global market, and that Maerich be marketed as a designed-in-singapore brand. Even her description of Maerich as “small, powerful and versatile” sounds reminiscent of our little red dot. There were some hurdles to overcome. “Some people might think, if I can buy a German or Italian product, why choose an Asian product? But the endorsement of our brand by top architects and designers around the world was a breakthrough for us.” Maerich lights are now used in developments across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Australia. “Apart from luxury hotels and resorts, we are working on custom fixtures for luxury yachts, as well as our next collection,” she says. For that collection, she has set a theme of Light Never Before, and is challenging her team to come up with truly fresh ideas. “I’m going to ask them to work in pop-up innovation labs in different designfocused countries. From these experiences, we’ll see what we come up with.” For her, it’s all about using light to better personify luxury living and experiences. And the future looks bright. “The use of light has now extended to collecting data for analytics,” Marisa enthuses. “With sensors connected to software, light fixtures can be used as indicators for ambient light, temperature and traffic. These new benefits and possibilities are exciting. They will change how we interpret the use of light.”