Once upon a time, light was simply a tool to aid people see in the dark. From a candle’s flicker to an oil lamp’s glow, light was functional, and aesthetics weren’t much of a concern. But over time, people began to realise that lighting could be more than just practical—it could be beautiful.
With the evolution of interior design, lighting design transformed too. Bespoke lighting, lighting that demands attention in a room, fixtures that are determinants of an aesthetic style – there’s more to light today than just illumination. It has become an art form that can transform the look and feel of a space, shaping ambience and mood in ways previously unimagined.
Several lighting brands were born in this revolution, each with its own philosophy and ideology at the core. One such brand is DCWéditions, whose portfolio represents how the contemporary world sees ‘designer’ lighting – as an object that’s meant to bring joy and novelty.
Lighting Products but make them Art: The birth of DCWéditions
A small team of designers and craftsmen in the heart of Paris started a journey to create crafted lighting objects. They called themselves DCWéditions, a company that specialises in creating well-conceived, well-designed, and well-made lighting objects that connect emotionally with people and their surroundings.
“Our lighting objects aspire to bring people together. Our pendants cover meaningful conversations, where the eyes sparkle under the right light. Our objects make any space feel more like home. Even a hotel corridor. We like our lighting warm. We stay away from fridge lighting, and you should too,” says Adelaide Gauthe Minet, Director of Content, DCWéditions, while subtly hinting that any purely functional lighting is a missed opportunity for potential.
Elevating the Art of Lighting: DCWéditions Creations
In its 15-year history, DCWéditions has achieved many milestones with thirty collections. “Whether re-editions of classics or new contemporary designs, our objects connect emotionally to the past and live in the present with a vision for the future. Our objects have asperities and dimensionality; they engage the hand as much as the eye. They are not meant to be admired from afar on a museum pedestal but used and touched in real life. Although, we are also very proud that some of our lighting objects have been acquired in museums’ permanent collections, like La Lampe Frechin, which was acquired in the permanent collection of the Pompidou Museum last year,” says Adelaide.
DCWéditions has become an international reference for re-editions and new creations, such as the iconic Lampe Gras by Bernard-Albin Gras and In the Tube by Dominique Perrault and Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost.
We have seen it in action. Their recent launch, FOCUS by Yuji Okitsu, was all the rage at Everything Architecture. “I focus on events that touch the hidden heartstrings in everyday life and incorporate them into my designs,” expresses Yuji. It sounds much like what DCWéditions does as well!
Yuji is an architect based in Tokyo who works across architecture, design and art. His designs begin as concepts and eventually progress to products whose details trigger and demand a reaction. For example, for Focus, Yuji imagined planets traversing in an unburstable, invincible soap bubble.
“Focus was designed to be lightweight yet resistant, combining aluminium and polymer to create a delicate and timeless mobile that evokes a sense of wonder and a sense of spatial quest. The design is then quite aerial, as if floating in a soothing atmosphere,” says Adelaide.
Latest from DCWéditions
Their recent creations also succinctly represent the brand – SOUL by Charles Kalpakian and NL12 by Sebastian Summa.
SOUL is a collection of five gypsum wall lights, with or without a gold leaf decoration. In a dark corner or alley, these lights are charmers that add to the mysterious and brooding setting. Soft lines and delicate materiality create a docile silhouette that evokes ease and comfort.
NL12 – radical and poetic – is a pendant light composed of twelve borosilicate glass tubes. Only the singular central tube emits light, while the other tubes relay its diffusion through refraction and a prism. The tubes can be moved manually to create the desired edge, smoothened or not – imparting the fixture a mix of brutal and minimal aesthetics.
Collaborating with Communities: Lighting up the Middle East
DCWéditions aims to bring its designs to new spaces and communities, including the Middle East. They hope to collaborate with the local community through participation in trade shows and events, like Everything Architecture, reflecting their belief that lighting can bring warmth and comfort to any environment. “DCWéditions would love to build beautiful projects with them and to develop strong collaborations. We are also eager to present new objects and creations at Euroluce 2023 in Milan. It will be quite amazing, with lots of new emotions and inspiration. Stay tuned for great launches!” concludes Adelaide.
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Date added:
9 March, 2023
