LOUIS POULSEN

There’s nothing quite as sweet or typical in business as trying, failing, and trying again. In 1874 Ludvig R. Poulsen set up a wine importing business in Copenhagen, then sold tool and electrical supplies. Ludvig’s nephew took over the business and sold it to partner Sophus Kaastrup-Olsen who wanted to enter designs at the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs & Industriels Modernes. Superstar Poul Henningsen, obsessed with perfecting beautiful, artificial light, led the charge and won award after award. Only then did the company really hit the stride that would set them sailing them through the next 100+ years as one of the finest modern lighting manufacturers in the world.

ITEM WE LOVE

Synonymous with modern is Arne Jacobsen, the Copenhagen-born architect, industrial and furniture designer who was so ahead of his time that he white boxed his childhood room to cover up the patterned Victorian wallpaper. A stickler for minimalism with a soft spot for flowers, Jacobsen is best known for his curvy Egg and Swan chairs, both super comfy icons of the middle of last century. What really made Jacobsen one of the best though, was his attention to proportion, mixing of materials and a certain je ne sais quoi that is perfectly exemplified in this slightly quirked up, wonky lamp. Against sumptuous curves or straight lines, it’s angles and personality will always serve “just right.”

NOTEWORTHY

PANTHELLA 250 TABLE LAMP

Back to the future! The Panthella 250 emits a glare-free, soft and comfortable illumination.

PH 5 PENDANT LAMP

The fixture provides a comfortable, glare-free light based on the principle of Poul Henningsen’s reflective three-shade system, which directs the majority of the light downward.

PH 3½-2½ COLOUR TABLE LAMP

The PH 3½-2½ Glass Table lamp was designed in 1928 and is one of many advanced projects undertaken by Henningsen in the development of his world-famous three-shade system.