Italian designer Luca Nichetto has created a range of glass lamps for the Swedish company Svenskt Tenn, inspired by a print by Josef Frank and his respect for Venetian glassblowing techniques.
Fusa is a collection of bulbous floor and table lamps and candle holders made from Murano glass in a dazzling array of colours. The lamps feature LED lights housed in frosted glass hoods, making them as energy efficient as they are beautiful. Each column of fused glass rests on a brass base, allowing for touch control to turn the lamps on and off as well as control dimming levels.
Nicholetto credits Josef Frank’s Terrazzo textile design as the inspiration for his collection. Frank’s design is one of 160 prints held in the Svenkst Tenn archive.
“My first thought when I saw the print was that the stones in the motif looked exactly like a mosaic and Murano glass,” said Nichetto. “I highlighted the different formations, combined them and gave them new life in the form of lighting.”
Nichetto grew up on the island of Murano in Venice, and founded his studio in the city in 2006, before moving to Stockholm in 2011 to set up a second studio.
He hopes that the collection, which is made in a small Murano glass factory, will help glassblowers in the area who are suffering from a lack of interest in their craft.
“I think our mission as designers is to try and maintain craftsmanship, otherwise in ten years’ time our kids will never be able to see what we saw. It’s something we need to protect.”
Each piece in the Fusa collection is handmade using traditional glassblowing techniques. Nichetto took different sections of glass and broke them down into smaller sections, and then melted the pieces together to create the stunning visual effect.
The collection launched at Stockholm Design Week 2019 and will be on display in the Svenkst Tenn store in Stockholm until March 31, 2019.
