FUNCTIONAL ART

Geometry and craftsmanship is what makes willowlamp’s latest collection striking pieces of art, writes

URBAN living is big business. But as city dwellers increase, flat sizes are decreasing. The solution? Smaller furniture and decor pieces.

Cape Town-based lighting design company willowlamp is now taking its place in the small space design arena with the launch of its Small Space 2018 collection.

“We have enjoyed a great success with our original designs and are still producing our traditional larger installations, but we also wanted to expand and create smaller lights that elevate more compact spaces,” creative director Adam Hoets said of the collection.

The new creations vary in design and range, from the small Babylove – styled on a four-leaf clover – to the array of Moroccan-style lamps that invoke the beauty of north Africa.

“The new designs give clients a level of creativity in their homes as well.

“The smaller installations can either hang on their own or can be grouped together to produce something unique.

“We also see this as a great opportunity to move out of the residential market as the smaller pendants would work equally well in a commercial space, such as a restaurant,” said Hoets.

Each lamp has been created to hang beautifully in a small home or flat, while still creating the same impact as a larger statement piece.

New designs in the collection include:

A poetic interpretation of traditional bamboo windchime forms.

The design is a circular, tiered arrangement of repeated “windchimes”.

The chandelier is illuminated by G4 LED’s in each windchime, as well as 6 LEDs on top of the main frame that illuminate and cast dramatic shadows on to the ceiling.

A playful range of lamps named after the fact that the design is derived from the outline of a peel of a citrus fruit. Available as single or double tier.

A futuristic semi-transparent form.

The success of this design results from an ingenious clip device that has enabled willowlamp for the first time to attach the ball chain to itself.

This allows for dynamic and distorted curves to be created.

The idea is inspired by Antoni Gaudi, who used inverted chain models in the structural design for the Sagrada Familia. A collection of ghostlike petite lamps inspired by the forms and wcolours of Moroccan metal vases.

Hoets finds inspiration nature’s sculptural form.

The UCT architecture graduate’s obsession with design has resulted in chandeliers that combine aesthetics with technical details.

The willowlamp notch system allows curtains of ball-chain to flow elegantly from laser-cut steel frames.

But it is their designs shaped by the principles of geometry and craftsmanship that turn each piece into functional works of art.

For more information www.willowlamp.com in

visit