Even if you don't know the brand, chances are you'll recognise Flos's products.
Flos started out as a small experimental design outfit in northern Italy, and 50-odd years later is one of the most established lighting brands in the world.
Flos was founded in 1962 when designers Dino Gavina and Cesare Cassina opened a workshop where they could experiment using new techniques and materials to create lamps.
They knew their best shot at success would be to partner with top interior designers and soon had powerhouses such as Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Tobia Scarpa and Sergio Gandini converted to their cause.With such design greats working on their products, it wasn't long before Flos had a range of high-quality, futuristic designs, but their real breakthrough came when they started to play with a highly pliable, spray-on plastic material, not unlike silk. The importer of this new polymer, mainly used for packaging, was looking for ways to use it commercially. After meeting Gavina, he suggested they apply the material to a metal frame to create lighting fixtures.He believed the light shining through this cloud-like material would have an almost magical effect. The ambitious designers jumped at the idea, creating a steel frame, which they painted white, and sprayed the polymer onto it. The resulting skin was similar to a silkworm cocoon - thus the Cocoon lamp was born.More recently, Marcel Wanders designed the Zeppelin and Chrysalis lamps for Flos, both of which use the cocoon technology and are considered offspring of the original collection.
It's not only the Cocoon lamps that have led to the success of Flos - browsing their catalogue is akin to strolling through a design museum.
Over the past half century, the Italian company has built a lighting empire and, thanks to collaborations with some of the world's greatest designers, their products are set to keep shining for decades to come.• Flos is available locally via ELDC...