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WILLOWLAMP
DESIGNERS
The willowlamp ™ is the brainchild of the design
duo ‘TeamTwo’ Adam Hoets and Sian Eliot.
Sian Eliot studied Industrial Design at the Cape Technikon
and is also a jeweller.
She has established herself as a distinctive voice in the
field of jewellery design through her innovative meshing
of traditional skills with technology. She has a natural
instinct and understanding for the materials she works with.
Adam Hoets is a registered Architect who has specialised
in Eco Architecture since graduating from the University
of Cape Town in 2000. His architectural projects have shown
a flair for progressive and environmentally sensitive design
– a focus that is continued in his collaborative work
under the umbrella of Willowlamp.
Adam has an obsessive awareness of the intricacies of the
willowlamp’s construction. This manifests in a tightly
conceptualised and resolved final product that couples aesthetics
and sensitivity with technical design.
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DESIGN ETHOS
Our design ethos fuses organic forms with high tech elements without
compromising on the highly personalised level of craftsmanship.
We industrially manufacture the elements but each lamp is painstakingly
hand-assembled. Each of the hundreds of chain strands are cut and
attached by hand. Both artistry and technical development are evident
in the pieces.
Willowlamps are dynamic – every movement of air can be seen
on their surface, suggesting something quite ‘impressionable’
and delicate.
WILLOWLAMP GENESIS
The genesis of willowlamp was an organic process of collaboration
between Adam and Sian. Adam was experimenting with ball chain
to create woven spheres and chain curtains. However, issues
with suspension forced him to find new alternatives to hanging
the chains, namely, a way to attach many pieces of chain to
a structure without the need of any fasteners. An elegant
solution was in store. Sian, who was simultaneously using
the process of laser cutting to create jewellery, saw the
potential link between these two media and the Willowlamp
notch was born. The then ‘TeamTwo’ developed a
tiny notch that when cut into sheet steel would create a permanent
method of fixing the chains. The notch is now a registered
patent of willowlamp™. The ingenuity of a fastener free
system, facilitated by the notch and combined with the power
of digital cutting allows for great versatility of design
and scale.
In August 2005, following six months of research and development
the first willowlamps were completed. The name and branding
of ‘willowlamp’ was also created during the course
of 2005 with the help of ‘Rex’ a Johannesburg
based graphic design company. (www.rexjhb.com)
We were creating prototypes in our spare time while continuing
with our respective careers. Our first order came from Suburban
Films, a production company owned by Linda Notelowitz –
a keen supporter of South African artists. This gave us the
boost and momentum to launch the product at the Design Indaba
Expo February 2006. We were bowled over by the response from
the general public – people from all classes and cultures
(including children and our cats) respond to this simple idea!
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WILLOWLAMP
SERVICES
We offer a wide selection of ready-designed lamps which are
a part of our permanent collection. This collection of designs
grows each year and because of the many available finishes
and tailor ability they are never mass produced. All pieces
are individually made to order to the clients’ specific
requests.
For this reason we move seamlessly into the ‘custom-made’
and offer a ‘tailoring’ service. Willowlamp is
a brilliant opportunity for creativity both for ourselves
as artists, but also for our clients. We offer a professional
and comprehensive service in design and product development,
being the perfect link between the interior designer and the
manufacturing industry. Please download our ‘terms and
conditions’ letter for a more detailed explanation of
this.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
We have a registered patent in South Africa and a patent
pending in the US.
We began this process in April 2005 when we registered
the ‘notch’ idea for patenting at CIPRO in Pretoria.
In March 2006 we registered the idea internationally with
the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in Geneva with the help
of Bowman Gilfillan attorneys. That gave us 36 months to test
the product’s viability, before we needed to register
in individual countries. Since 2006 we have had the help of
Von Seidels (and Erik van der Vyfer) an intellectual property
law firm in Cape Town.
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GROWTH & AWARDS
We continued to show our work at the Design Indaba (DI)
taking a stand again in February 2007. We showed our new collection
in February 2008. The DI is a wonderful platform for emerging
South African designers to position themselves. It is the
strongest ‘design community’ we have in South
Africa. We had another public showing at ‘rooms on view’
at the Sandton Convention Centre in May 2008.
In both 2006-7 and 2007-8 we won the Elle Décor lighting
design of the year award for South Africa (called the EDIDA
award). In 2009 we have again been recognised by Elle décor,
and are the overall winners of ‘Designers of the
Year 2009’. This is a great pleasure.
We have gained a lot of experience in export by focussing
on contract work through various international interior designers,
galleries and procurement firms. We have sent fittings to
the USA, the America’s, Europe, the Middle East, the
Far East and Australasia as well as working on some wonderful
custom-made residential pieces in South Africa. We are hoping
to do something over the top and elaborate in India 2009!
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GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS
At our first showing Design Indaba 2006 we forged a link with
the Amaridian gallery in Soho New York – who have
become our stockist and representative in the US. ( www.amaridianusa.com)
They specialise in promoting contemporary South African art and
design and are helping to break the stereotypical perception of
‘African’ design. Through their efforts willowlamps
have appeared in the New York Times, New York Vogue Living, US
Interior Design and other US design publications and magazines.
They represented willowlamp at the International Contemporary
Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York in May 2007. Through the gallery
we have sent lamps to Puerto Rico, Mexico, Sydney Australia, New
York and San Francisco.
We now also have an agent in the UK ‘Cameron Peters’
( www.cameronpeters.com)
who are a specialist lighting company. They focus on informing
the UK industry about speciality designer lighting produced all
around the world. They are the UK agents for Venini and Ingo Maurer,
among others. We feel very happy to have them as our agent because
they are a privately owned company who have a passion for lighting
and lifestyle. They are situated in a beautiful English village
(Ardington) between Didcot Parkway and Oxford.
Our newest agent is in France. ‘Nova Luce’ is a beautiful
lighting store owned by Ghislaine Maillard and is situated on the
sought-after rue du Faubourg St Honoré. We are proud to be
associated to them. www.novaluce.fr
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STUDIO
AND SHOWROOM
We are the proud owners of new premises!
Our studio/showroom is situated in Braamfontein, Johannesburg,
South Africa.
Willowlamp studio
# 6 De Beer street
Braamfontein
+27(0)11 403 6714
Please call first if you are planning a visit as we are
not always in.
The atmosphere is energetic and urban and we have a view
of the Nelson Mandela bridge from the space!
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