Lighting Trends

A friend recently turned me on to the work of the late designer, Achille Castiglioni. Born in Milan in 1918, Casiglioni went on to garner numerous awards, receiving seven Compasso d'Oro awards in his lifetime. Among his accomplishments, Castiglioni founded ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) in 1956, an association of 750 manufacturers and capable Italian designers and architects and was fortunate enough to have fourteen of his works featured at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York City.

A renowned industrial designer, Castiglioni was said to be inspired by everyday things and the use of ordinary materials in all of his works. Working with his 2 brothers, the Castiglioni quickly turned into the talk of the modern design world. The brothers worked with the idea that good design should restructure an object's function, form and production process. Castiglioni once described this process as having three parts: "Start from scratch. Stick to common sense. Know your goals and means". Castiglioni, both on his own and with his brothers, went on to design everything from a vacuum to a collection of Alessi Cutlery to various modern light fixtures.

My absolute favorite piece is his Taccia table and floor lamp, which he designed for FLOS. Made of Anodized aluminum, Taccia provides both indirect and reflected light. With a metal reflector and a gloss white finish inside with white powder-coated outside - Taccia is a beauty to behold. It features an adjustable hand-blown clear glass diffuser and a matte black or anodized silver extruded aluminum body. At a little over 21 inches tall, this lamp will cost you about $2,548.00. Here are some of other favorites by Achille Castiglioni.

Lights out until next time!

Taccia Table/Floor Lamp by Flos - $2548.00

Arco Floor Lamp by Flos - $3,370.00

Snoopy Table Lamp by Floss - $924.00

Splügen Bräu Pendant Light by FLOS - $508.00

Frisbi Pendant Light by FLOS - $724.00

Lampadina Table Lamp by FLOS - $128.00