Foscarini‘s newest lighting addition, Anisha, was designed by Spanish studio Lievore Altherr Molina.

The sleek table lamp’s name carries double meaning: According to Foscarini, “anisho” means “ring” in Argentinean Spanish; at the same time, the name “Anisha” is also a tribute to artist Anish Kapoor, “famous for his works with their primordial, rounded shapes and lively, striking colors.”

One of Foscarini’s first lamps to use only an LED bulb, Anisha comes in two sizes and two colors (red and white). For more info, visit foscarini.com.

Foscarini, the luxe Italian lighting company, introduces its first iPhone & iTouch app. iFOSCARINI – DO YOU LIGHT? lets you play dress up in your own home, by adding images of the company’s best-selling lighting options to your own home or office photos.

For example, trying to decide between Foscarini’s Twiggy or Havana floor lamp for your living room? No problem. Just open up the free app, snap a picture of your room (or grab a pre-existing photo), then choose your lamp of choice from twenty floor, table, wall and suspension lamps on the menu, and voilà! Interior design for the modern world. Move the lamp around the room, make it larger or smaller,or try out a different model with a few simple swipes. Save the images you like and send them to friends.

Or check out the app’s “Video” section, where you can access a selection of films from Foscarini’s archive on YouTube. These videos showcases the designers and stories behind some of Foscarini’s best-sellers styles.

iFOSCARINI is a clever app from a company known for innovative lighting design: perfect for professional interior designers and the average fancy lighting lover.

The iFOSCARINI app can be downloaded free from the iTunes AppStore. The iPad version is promised to follow shortly.

*Image courtesy of Foscarini.

Architecture and design duo Ludovica and Roberto Palomba‘s new floor-style GREGG lamp for Foscarini is the latest addition to the very popular series of organically-inspired lighting. Complementing the existing table, wall, ceiling and suspension versions, the GREGG floor lamp is made of an incandescent mass of blown glass transformed into an elegant, asymmetric bubble, closer to something we might find in nature than a machine-shaped geometric form. The elegant movement of the stem links the base to the blown glass diffuser, and the egg-like shape morphs depending on the observer’s point of view.

Check out the images and video below to learn more about Ludovica and Roberto Palomba’s inspiration behind the GREGG series.

*Images and video courtesy of Foscarini.

Diesel teams up with cutting-edge furniture brands Moroso and Foscarini to expand beyond the fashion world into furniture and lighting. Their “Successful Living from Diesel” range hit the US market during last weekend’s ICFF. Approaching the home furnishing world with the same energetic style that’s made it such a hit in the fashion world, “Successful Living” was inspired by edgy music, a creative spirit, and a need to express one’s individuality. Now, Successful Living will be available through retailer The Future Perfect of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Recurring themes in both the collection’s furniture (Moroso) and lighting (Foscarini) pieces include the ideas of “Camp” and “Rock.” The Camp theme implies mobility and a nomadic lifestyle, as evidenced by portable furnishings, often incorporating tent-like, canvas materials. The Rock theme has a double meaning: first, as in Rock and Roll, captured through elements like punky, metallic studs and second, more literally, through the rough-textured material inspiration for items like the hanging Rock lamp.

Check out some highlights below!

*above: Fork table lamp, from Foscarini, recalls “a casual camping lifestyle,” with a canvas shade with visible seams and metal grommets that attach it like those used to tie down tents. Fork “emits a warm homey light, like a tent illuminated in the dark woods.”

*above: Fork floor lamp from Foscarini.

*above: Glas from Foscarini reinterprets the classic work light used in warehouses and factories worldwide. Available in hanging and table versions.

*above: Rock, also from Foscarini, recalls an active volcano with its dark, lava-like exterior, split to reveal sparkling crystals inside, with hundreds of asymmetric golden facets that reflect the beams of light.

*above: Overdyed Table by Moroso. The Overdyed series of wood furniture includes a lounge chair, side chair, rectangular coffee, and round side table. The ragging paint technique used to finish the wood comes in Indigo Blue or Weathered Gray and reveals its natural markings for a more vintage effect. Frames are Raw Black lacquered steel.

*above: Overdyed Lounge Chair from Moroso.

*images courtesy of Diesel

Designer Tom Dixon and Philips Lumiblade have collaborated to develop Flat Lamp, a unique collection of light bulbs incorporating Philips’ revolutionary OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) technology. A first in the next generation of lighting, OLEDs are a new generation of SSL (Solid State Lighting) light that boasts an efficient new light creating technology. Due to their availability in super thin panels, they offer a fresh perspective on lighting design.

Layers of electrodes are sandwiched in a single sheet of glass, like a traditional light bulb, but compressed into a flat disc. Dixon is amongst the first to use this light source and capitalize on the super-thin technology. Light is created by semiconductors – rather than using a filament or gas – allowing SSL lighting to provide energy-efficient, longer lasting and sustainable lighting.

According to Dixon, “Our collaboration with Philips has been nothing short of illuminating, being able to work on the cutting edge of technology in a field that has such a big impact on people’s every day lives. For us it’s a dream project where the objective is to work on the immediate future method of reducing energy consumption whilst illuminating spaces in a more attractive and more functional way. OLED’s are going to change the way that designers, architects and the general public use light and we are delighted to be the designers of the world’s first integrated OLED bulb.”

Flat Lamp is available in three different shapes: Strip, Round and Square and is presented through chandeliers, a floor, wall and table lights. The collection launched at the Philips stand during Milan Salone Del Mobile.

*Rendering courtesy of Tom Dixon.

The brainchild of Latvian designers Baiba Lindāne and Uģis Gailis, BUdesign creates contemporary pieces that respectfully nod toward ancient Latvian folk traditions. Launched in 2008, thus far the design duo has earned a Magazine Deko Design Award, a Latvian Art Directors Club Award and a Young & Design Award.

Samples of their work are below, and include an 80 x 70cm wicker lamp series inspired by nature, a 43 x 33cm metal lamp inspired by the classic four-sided kitchen grater, and a clever catch-all hanging shelf, available in white, black or “salad green.”

To see more of BUdesign’s work, visit budesign.lv.

Opening tomorrow at Studio Visconti as part of Milan’s Salone design furniture festival, “flawless/imperfection” presents designer Rolf Sachs‘ newest prototypes and limited-edition furniture and lighting lines. Inspired by his fascination with the inherent ‘imperfections’ of everyday life, and wary of the often faultless, glossy designs of the past decade, Sachs’ conceptual approach celebrates and exposes the imperfections rather than attempting to conceal them: a Kevlar chair is left untrimmed, resin pieces have air bubbles and blemishes, and upholstered furniture is marked and stained revealing a joyful, lived-in domestic feel. And the lighting, well – see the stunning results below for yourself.

According to Sachs,”‘flawless/imperfection’ has been inspired by my curiosity of the imperfections in humans and daily life. We try to distance ourselves from the typically ‘flawless’ design attributes of the past decade and aim to create designs that demonstrate conceptual rather than decorative ideas. I also try to bring an underlying sense of humour, surprise and nostalgia to my work, trying to change people’s perceptions.’

“flawless/imperfection” runs through this Sunday.

*above: ‘ginger & fred’ 2010, Pair of armchairs. Studio piece. Pine wood, hessian, cotton, metal springs, natural fibres & wadding, fabric paint

*above: ‘dirty thoughts’ 2009. Armchair. Carbon fibre, Kevlar, bonding resin, paints

*above: ‘chemie no.2’ 2010. Table or pendant light. Prototype for edition. Amberised borosilicate glass, cork, flex, electrics

*above: ‘rubecula’ 2010. Table light. Studio series of 17. H40cm x W26.5cm x D26.5cm. Mirrored glass dome, felt, natural twig, stuffed Robin bird, electrics, flex, walnut dimmer

*above: ‘hand me a light’ 2010. Table light. Studio series of 17. H50cm x W42cm x D42cm. Mirrored glass dome, felt, wooden hand, electrics & flex

*above: ‘light house’ 2010. Floor lamp. Prototype. H150cm x W60cm x D30cm. Wooden stand, mirrored glass dome, straps, flex, electrics

*Images courtesy of LUCHFORD APM.

British designer Tom Dixon offers us a sneak peak at his new wares for May’s ICFF 2010: INDUSTRY and Flash Factory. INDUSTRY is Dixon’s latest line of lighting and furniture (scheduled to appear at ICFF’s booth 1804), and was inspired by industrial processes. At Dixon’s Flash Factory (booths 1900 and 2000), visitors will be able to make and buy limited-edition pieces directly from the stand.

INDUSTRY’s lineup includes:
- Void, an almost musical-looking lighting object inspired by the vacuum flask, with a double wall construction.
- Peg, a minimalist stackable café chair in sold birch.
- Offcut Bench, a flat-packed design made from the waste generated by standard wooden furniture manufacture.
- and the return of Jack, the polyethylene ‘sitting, stacking, lighting thing’ now available in black for the latest generation.

Also launching Is the first in a series of self-published Tom Dixon books. Starting with the orientation for this year’s collection, Industry, the paperback outlines a critique of various production formulas followed by Dixon’s own proposal for a Future Industry. In the same spirit of Etch and Flash Factory, this publishing venture hopes to cut out the middle man by employing new, innovative printing systems. We’ve got an exclusive look at the cover below!

INDUSTRY can be bought from the stand at ICFF and at www.tomdixon.net.

*above, Tom Dixon’s Void lights

*above, Jack lights

*above, Jack lights

*above, Offcut Bench

*above, Peg Chairs

*above, Dixon’s new INDUSTRY book cover

*All images courtesy of Tom Dixon.

Incorporating technology and craft, design collective Hive produces playfully elegant lighting and accessories. Standouts include:

- The Halo series by award-winning Hive creative director and designer Kenneth Cobonpue, made of nylon monofilament and a powdercoated metal frame
- The Moon Hanging Lamp, also by Cobonpue, made of paper pulp fiber and a fiberglass frame, and
- The Lux Hanging Lamp, designed by Joseph Laxina, for which fish scales are woven inside an acrylic glass cube.

To learn more about Hive, visit h-i-v-e.com.

*All images courtesy of Hive.