Lighting is an integral part of interior design; it can completely change the look and feel of a room. It is important for any home to be and feel just right for the owner and with lighting you can create an ambience that may not have been present before. Nocturne uses quality craftsmanship to create beautiful handmade lighting, designed by Simon Day.
Constructed from reclaimed materials, each lamp will have some form of uniqueness due to the different grains or finishes of the wood. I find this particularly appealing as it is hard to find items with a certain individuality or distinctiveness in the commercial day in which we live. Don’t get me wrong, there are some lovely homeware accessories out there, but there is something to be said about having your own piece of bespoke furniture made to order, it’s incredibly special.
Designer Robin Day states that, “A good design should fulfill its purpose well, be soundly constructed and should express in its design this purpose and construction.” I agree, something such as lighting should clearly be functional but that doesn’t mean to say that how its made should be lacking in anyway, quality of construction is very important. I believe in many ways that is what sets apart the bespoke from the mass produced; quality and care. I find it refreshing when people care about something such as design and I do think that this passion shows through in the end creation. Using good quality materials Nocturne are able to produce strong, lasting and beautiful designs working with clients as a collaboration to create the desired lighting from design to end product.
Simon Day graduated from Wimbledon School of Art with a BA Hons in sculpture in 1997. Since then he has worked in the field broadening his skills base in metalwork and specialist techniques in furniture and lighting. During this time Simon developed plans for the Nocturne range of lamps drawing inspiration from the early 20th Century British design sensibilities of companies such as Kandya and PEL and designers such as Ernest Race, Frank Guille and James Leonard.
Current designs are inspired by the 1940’s and 50’s with a blend of elegance and functionality. That particular era for me lends itself to sophistication and class with a nod to some of the earlier 20th Century British designs. Simon draws a lot of inspiration from this era, as well as architecture and artists such as Vanessa Bell, Jack Pritchard’s Isokon furniture and the record players designed for Braun by Dieter Rams, to name a few.
The current range of lighting includes:
The Dorsey lamp, which is made from reclaimed hardwood a polished steel fin and a spun aluminium shade offers a well-lit tidy desk. Originally Simon built the first one for his own desk and decided to pursue the line further using different materials when he started his business last year. The Dorsey lamp gives a “steady, calming presence” to any workspace and is Simons favourite so far.
The Otis lamp is a stunning table lamp made with a spun nickel shade and support. The shade incorporates a simple clean design of three swaged lines. After speaking with Simon he told me that, “it was the first lamp of the three that I made and was based on a lamp that I saw on eBay many years ago, I lost the bid so I thought I’d make my own version. It’s taken a while to settle the making process down on the Otis, mainly due to a change of materials from steel to brass and aluminium. The main neck support is now solid brass square with a slot milled down the back to enable the wire cable to lay in flush. Being brass means I’m able to adapt the finish, so I’m currently working on a dark bronze colour patination for neck with the existing aluminum shade and a walnut base.”
The Fela floor lamp (featured image) is a perfect design offering flexibility. The lamp uses two friction knuckle joints, which allows it to be fully adjustable. The base is made from reclaimed oak and the shade is made from aluminium. I asked Simon to talk a little more about the design of this lamp; “The Fela has a figurative quality, I guess because of its size. I enjoy the minimal lines of this lamp, and that every element of it has a function without which the lamp wouldn’t work. Both the Fela and the Dorsey share a common shade shape, with the edge of the Dorsey’s shade being rolled over to give it a soft edge. The spinning former for the shades was actually made to make nose cones for large flying scale models of Spitfires, so it has that classic streamlined look.”
My personal favourite has to be the Otis lamp with its unassuming sophistication, I like the fact that it draws on the classic but would not look out of place in a modern home. Simon’s passion really came across when we were speaking about design in Nocturne, “Material combinations are very important to me and the weight and feel of them together can either create a balance in the design or undermine it. Detail is also vital, down to the countersinking of screw holes and the overlap of washers.“ To have something caringly made from reclaimed materials is something to love and cherish for some time. The care, time and design that goes into pieces like this really do portray the high level of craftsmanship that Nocturne use to produce beautiful bespoke lighting.
Nocturne’s 2012 catalogue will see the addition of a table lamp version of the Fela along with a mirror and a trestle table with matching benches.
