Kartell is well-known for numerous things, including premium-quality plastic products and the innovative designs of furniture. The brand can bring an ubiquitous material like plastic to next-level sophistication and novelty. The Italian design brand has been around for more than seven decades, and it remains legendary in industrial design and production, venturing into soft furniture, couches, furnishing accessories, lighting, fashion, and even eyewear. It continues to explore the untapped potential in the furniture business because Kartell is all about pursuing beauty and absolute quality. The brand has had several successful partnerships with creative designers, most of which have already become iconic– like those with Philippe Starck, Patricia Urquiola, Piero Lissoni, and Ferruccio Laviani.
Designer: Ferruccio Laviani
Ferruccio Laviani has been with Kartell since 1991 as the company’s artistic director, leading with passion and capable creativity. He has directed Kartell’s lighting division since its return in 2002 and has helped propel the business’ phenomenal growth. Kartell lights have been illuminating homes and establishments for twenty years, and we don’t think that will change anytime soon.
Lamps and lights are indispensable in our everyday lives as they don’t just offer ample illumination, but they also evoke different feelings, emotions, and reactions. Kartell has worked on new lamps and other products being showcased at Salone del Mobile 2022 this week. Laviani’s works usually turn out to be art masterpieces, and the TEA Lamp is no different.
What is meant to be a functional table-top object for illumination is suddenly transformed into an awe-inspiring sculpture. The Kartell TEA Lamp is still a conventional lamp but it also delivers pleasure to anyone who will use it. Ferruccio Laviani’s new lamp design can be a table ‘companion’ in many ways especially if you’re alone and have no one to talk to.
The abstract shape of the lamp presents to us what appears to be hands holding a light in their palms. When illuminated in a dark room, shadows are projected but seem to be irregularly shaped and beamed. The lamp cover is innovative yet natural-looking with the woven pattern. The design is actually like a torn piece of a native woven mat given a natural finish and ended with a porous texture, glued together to cover whatever is peeking. Others may say the appearance is wafer-like with the pattern—specifically, stroopwafels, a famous Dutch waffle cookie treat.
Kartell loves the planet, and that love is evident in the TEA Lamp’s design and production as the lamp is made from recycled thermoplastic technopolymer and is available in different colors: Black, White, Brown, and Bronze. This product is another perfect example of “design meets functionality meets sustainability”. Kartell still has so much to do in the area of sustainability and planet-friendliness, but the TEA already lives up to the demands. It is now environmentally responsible and is exercising good sustainability practices, but the good work has just started.
The Kartell TEA Lamp is a result of creative design and radical innovation after all those years of coming up with iconic products that can now be considered timeless. Kartell’s many efforts have identified what innovative materials can be regenerated and used but not negatively impact the planet. It will only continue to work with designers that give importance to the environment, and as long as Ferruccio Laviani is with Kartell, expect more products created using cutting-edge technologies and designed with sustainability in mind.
