The Ideal Launching Point For Our First Lighting Collection - The Local Project
As one of the country’s most significant design events – one that celebrates the work of Australia’s leading artisans and creatives – Melbourne Design Week 2024 was the ideal launching point for our first lighting collection.
We are thrilled that The Local Project has beautifully articulated our evolution in to lighting so perfectly. Words shared below, and featured here
Sydney-based design practice Studio Enti unveiled its first lighting range – a study in tonality, form, texture and shadow play – at this year’s Melbourne Design Week.
As one of the country’s most significant design events – one that celebrates the work of Australia’s leading artisans and creatives – Melbourne Design Week 2024 was the ideal launching point for Studio Enti’s first lighting collection. At the ‘Chasing Light’ event in the airy Beneath the Ferns space in Collingwood, the Sydney-based design practice unveiled its range of porcelain-based pendants, sconces, wall and ceiling lights. “I’m excited the range is a reality,” says the studio’s founder, Naomi Taplin. “It’s not just me creating these pieces, but a team of talented artisans I have an enormous amount of respect for, and Melbourne Design Week provided the perfect platform for us to launch.”
The lighting range is a natural extension of the highly considered handmade ceramic tableware the studio is renowned for, and one that Taplin has long desired to integrate into her diverse repertoire. Unsurprisingly, porcelain is at the heart of the collection, bringing its subtle aesthetic allure to each finely crafted luminaire. “As a material, porcelain is such a beautiful, natural element to look at and to interact with,” she says. “When you add the element of light, each piece comes to life with its own unique personality and character.”
Comprising two wall lights, two ceiling lights, three pendants and two sconces – each available in a variety of sizes and in the studio’s wide-ranging signature colours – the collection is designed to seamlessly integrate into any room and to bathe spaces in warmth, character and “an earthy tranquillity that evolves with the time of day,” says Taplin.
Pieces have been crafted to not just offer visual appeal but reflect the studio’s commitment to sustainability and respect for the creative process. Form meets function in the most considered way in pieces like the Dusked Eos column wall light that casts upward and downward and infuses spaces with an inviting glow, and the plump Orb pendant, which features a hand-carved opening. The Eclipse circular wall sconce, meanwhile, evokes the soft glow of a full moon, emanating a halo of ambient light, while its fellow sconce, the Crescent, resembles a waxing moon, radiating a gentle arc of light that can be directed up or down.
For Studio Enti’s devotees and collaborators – which include esteemed brands like Aesop and Alexander &CO. – the collection will be a welcome addition to the practice’s offerings. The lights will be featured in a line-up of significant architectural projects in the second half of the year, reflecting the studio’s standing in the Australian A&D community. For Taplin, having this sense of alignment with like-minded professionals is key to how the studio works: “Partnering with trusted suppliers who share my ethos of high-quality design and production – and who understand the specific requirements of the high-end market – means we can design, prototype and produce collections with creativity and confidence.”
Producing the lights locally and in small batches also gives the range a built-in flexibility. “We know that finding the right hue, hardware finish and light throw affects and influences the success of any design,” Taplin says. “Which is why we offer multiple shade sizes, colours and metal finishes to allow designers to customise their order and elevate their project.”
Words: Deborah Cooke Images & Video: Dara Munnis
