British designer Joe Armitage has produced a new collection of lighting, inspired by contemporary jazz, dance music and modernist architecture. We caught up with Armitage soon after the launch of the collection at the London Design Festival 2024 to find out the story behind the new designs.
The Modernist collection embodies a refined contemporary aesthetic and structural efficiency. It builds on the success of Joe Armitage’s debut classic lamp designs. The new collection includes two wall lamps, a desk lamp, and a choice between a linear or triple-drop suspension lamp. The collection is made in walnut, brass and a specially developed recycled PET for the shades.
“The tropical Indian naturalist influences of the classic Armitage collection have been re-contextualised by references from Modernist Architecture”
Joe Armitage
What methods of construction are used to make it?
The timber is CNC’d, the brass is cut and brazed by hand and the PET is cut using a CNC blade. The timber is finished with a natural oil/wax coat and the brass is lacquered, then everything is mechanically fixed together so that individual parts can be replaced if they ever get damaged.
How did the idea for the design come about?
I had a client that wanted a lamp for a small desk and they loved our classic lamp but wanted something visually simpler and suitable for a smaller surface. The Classic desk lamp has three points of contact but the Modernist desk lamp has a single surface so it’s more suitable for a smaller desk. The base of the Modernist lamp also has a concave curved surface so you can place pens, pencils or whatever you like there, another space saving consideration
"The base of the Modernist lamp also has a concave curved surface so you can place pens, pencils or whatever you like there."
Joe Armitage
How was the design developed? Pencil, pen, computer, modelling?
The first thing was to make a rough mock-up of the shade to make sure that the structure worked. I always sketch with a pencil and pen to develop the outlines of the design, then use tracing paper to take the best elements forward into the developed design. Once I have a strong idea of what it looks like physically then I move into computer modelling and rendering so that I can start to communicate the idea to the client and then the workshops.
Are they any specific details worth knowing about the design itself, the aesthetic, or how the product functions?
The timber surface of the desk lamp is borrowed from the detail of a bench in a project called The Modernist House by the Architect William Smalley. He told me that he’d designed it to add an element of tactility to the bench. It also accentuates the beautiful grain of the material. I really liked it and asked him if it was okay to borrow the idea.
How long has the design been in development?
About two years.
Do you see the design working in a particular type of space or place?
The lamps have already been popular in some hospitality projects but they are also equally cherished in peoples homes. I’m looking forward to seeing where they end up.
"The lamps have already been popular in some hospitality projects but they are also equally cherished in peoples homes."
Joe Armitage
The shade shape is the result of an experiment in form-finding evolved from the material characteristics of the recycled PET parchment which has been developed by Armitage in collaboration with a Swiss engineering company. The flexible material bows between two linear elements which hold it in place. The result is a U-channel shade which can be seen across the whole collection. Each light is handmade in the UK.
A big thank you to Joe Armitage for taking the time to answer our questions.
We look forward to seeing how the collection is received, and how it develops.
