KIM COOK
Associated Press<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designers and lighting companies have been busy coming up with new ways to hold a lightbulb and project light, and winter is a great time to explore their latest solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some are inspired by the skies overhead. Others by style eras, from Deco to disco. Still others are working with interesting materials around which to build a lamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a growing world of lighting that\u2019s so much more than the glass globe on a stem,\u201d says designer Ted Bradley<\/a> of Boulder, Colorado. He cites fresh, sculptural forms: \u201cWhen done right, they both capture our attention as standalone sculptures and fill the space around them with beautiful, high-quality light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A look at what\u2019s new:<\/p>\n\n\n\n BIOPHILIA<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bradley sees a trend toward nature-inspired objects and spaces. \u201cIt\u2019s something deeply rooted in all of us,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two that he\u2019s been drawn to recently: John Pomp\u2019s Tidal Chandelier<\/a>, and Ochre\u2019s Moonlight Murmuration.<\/a> \u201cThey\u2019re fascinating, both in their form and the techniques required to make them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pomp is a Philadelphia furniture and lighting designer who\u2019s also a glassblower and surfer. His collections of glass pendants, chandeliers, sconces and lamps look like blown bubbles, chunks of ice, swelling waves. The Tidal fixture perches sculpted amoeba-like glass pieces on hand-forged brass stems to create an organic canopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Murmuration, the British design firm Ochre conceptualizes the phenomenon of birds swooping through the sky in mesmerizing, cloud-like formations. Dozens of LED-lit solid glass drops are suspended from a white canopy to look as though they had been caught in mid-flight at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bradley\u2019s own Samsara fixture suspends white porcelain rings from a brass spine, evoking the rib cage of a sun-bleached whale skeleton. Other configurations he\u2019s devised suggest the bowing branches of a snow-covered aspen tree, a raptor\u2019s nest, a constellation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI aim to capture a moment of beauty in the natural world, and bring it to life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LOVING THE LIMELIGHT<\/p>\n\n\n\n Etsy trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson sees a rise in interest in \u201cstatement lighting\u201d \u2014 sculptural pendants, standout sconces, snazzy shades with lots of wow factor. She cites more searches for \u201970s-era lamps, decorative lighting, vintage fixtures and colorful pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Statement lighting, she says, \u201callows folks to spotlight their homes, while doubling as eye-catching artwork.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Designers of lighting fixtures are getting creative with materials, including fiber, porcelain, glass, fabric, paper and metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some statement lighting has a cosmic vibe. The constellation style comes in configurations big and small, with sticks of LEDs arranged to suggest starry skies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CB2\u2019s Savina pendant<\/a> is an alabaster orb with swirls that resembles a planetary gas giant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And British designer Lee Broom\u2019s<\/a> Crescent collection includes suspended lighting with illuminated acrylic spheres bisected to reveal a brass interior, as though a futuristic space station were opening its door. Broom\u2019s Eclipse fixture melds an acrylic circle with a mirrored one, like two moons meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter Bowles, who with son Charlie runs Original BTC<\/a>, was one of the first to use bone china in lamp-shade design, over 30 years ago in Oxfordshire, England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe potter he approached initially thought he was crazy, as they\u2019d only ever made tableware and similar products \u2014 never lighting,\u201d says Charlie Bowles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he says something special happens when the material meets light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBone china appears pure white once it\u2019s fired, but then gives a lovely warm soft glow when lit,\u201d he says. \u201cDespite its challenges and reputation for being a tricky ceramic to work with, the end result speaks for itself \u2013 it\u2019s versatile, fun to design with, and the light you get is soothing and can positively affect your mood.\u201d<\/p>\nIn that period, there is a test takes place which is buy line viagra<\/a> known as “cross-living” or Real-Life-Test. However, some young people may fall prey to male impotence as it causes damage and impairs the function of arteries buy cheap levitra pdxcommercial.com<\/a> that are necessary to the wellness of the patient that may include almonds, oysters, garlic, ginger, watermelons, milk, banana, and so on. Sometimes it can be a lifelong problem but it can get quite dangerous when it has to work harder to pump blood through the damaged arteries, it risks getting thicker, stiffer and enlarged. buy viagra without<\/a> Be smart enough not to canada cialis 100mg<\/a> be victimized by one of its side effects. <\/span>\n\n\n This year, the studio introduced Shard, a circular chandelier of handmade tiles, and Pebble, an elegant ceiling fixture formed of dozens of pieces of bone china, polished like river rocks and fastened to form a kind of mineral cocoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arteriors<\/a> has a collection of pendants crafted from materials like wooden beads, raffia and plant fibers. A pendant called Jana, for example, was inspired by traditional thatched roofs; brown wicker fringe creates a playful, textured fixture, suspended on an antique brass chain. The Jemai table lamp has a charcoal-hued base formed from ricestone, a fine gravel. The stacked asymmetrical forms create a groovy \u201970s vibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STORIES IN LIGHT<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spanish designer Maria Fiter,<\/a> in Barcelona, uses pulped newsprint, water-based glue, and natural earth pigments to create imaginative lightweight pendants inspired by the solar system, animal shapes, cartoon characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Designer Pascale Girardin in Quebec, Canada, was inspired by childhood memories of picking petals off flowers to create her Love Me Knot pendant, for Juniper<\/a>. The dramatically scaled fixture, composed of hand-formed acrylic petals suspended by cables from a matte white canopy, has a romantic, ethereal vibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lampshades are a great way to introduce an artsy element \u2014 and you can usually pop one onto a base you already have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bespoke Binny<\/a>, designer Natalie Namina\u2019s London studio, has a collection of African wax-printed drum shades with bold patterns and colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WALL ART<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carla Regina and James Andrew, who run Regina Andrew Detroit <\/a>in Michigan, say sconces have been on the uptick with their clientele.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides providing light, sconces are wall art and \u201ccan quickly transform and update a room,\u201d Regina says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their Happy sconce has two white light balls perching playfully atop a smile-shaped tubular base in nickel, rubbed bronze or brass. Their Gotham sconce pairs a sleeve of alabaster with Art Deco brass trim \u2013 it\u2019s evocative of that era, yet classically modern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n France & Son\u2019s<\/a> matte-black Serge sconce is a reproduction of the classic mussel-shaped Serge Mouille midcentury fixture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inspired by antlers she saw while visiting Jackson Hole, Wyoming, designer Beth Webb had an antler cast in resin and transformed into the Jackson sconce, with a white linen shade and nickel backplate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apartment dwellers take heart; there are many plug-in or battery-operated sconces that don\u2019t need to be hardwired; just attach them to the wall and use a remote. Schoolhouse,<\/a> AllModern,<\/a> Rejuvenation<\/a> and Lamps Plus<\/a> all have a wide range of plug-in styles, and battery-operated ones can be found at Wayfair<\/a> and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WINTER LIGHT<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Scandinavian trick of using low-level and indirect lighting indoors at this time of year works well because it keeps us attuned to the outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s more about embracing winter\u2019s natural light, and working to amplify it on those darker days,\u201d says interior designer Clare Gaskin in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She suggests wall and pendant fixtures with reflective interiors to create ambience. Brass or copper give a lamp\u2019s bulb a warm glow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Create islands of light in a space for working, relaxing or doing both at different times of day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014-<\/p>\n\n\n\n New York-based writer Kim Cook writes regularly about homes and design for The AP. She can be reached on Instagram @kimcookhome.<\/p>\n\n\n\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n