Journal

Working through her studio, Eva Menz, the German-born lighting meister designs LED fixtures with thoughtfully crafted details that make each piece one of a kind.

A flock of porcelain origami birds floats above the mostly marble lobby entrance in a building in Oran, Algeria. A waterfall of light, made of crystal-glass diamonds and gold-plated pendants, cascades through the center of a rectangular spiral stairway in London. An undulating canopy of glass shards creates a fragmented pattern of light and shadow in a modern restaurant in San Diego, California.

All these theatrical lighting installations were created by the German illumination artist and sculptor Eva Menz, who has spent 18 years crisscrossing the globe to offer private clients lighting that not only brightens but also enlivens spaces.

Recognizing that such large, ethereal works aren’t suited to every home or business, in 2019, Menz established luxury lighting brand Atelier001 to sell smaller-scale lamps, chandeliers, pendants and sconces, which she designs and which can be arranged in bespoke assemblages.

“It’s perhaps like a fashion brand that has a couture side or an accessories side,” she explains. “Atelier001 offers wider access to some beautifully made pieces. I think of it as mass production with more of an individual touch.”

Because the pieces are all hand-made and finished by top craftsmen, each is unique, with its own coloring and patina.

Take the pendant lamps in her Cosmic collection. Each is composed of two hand-spun brass plates on a framework of satin brass and illuminated with LEDs, and all are finished in matte white lacquer or with a celestial-seeming patina. But the particular patina — whether indigo, rust, dark bronze or verdigris — varies from one piece to the next.

Born and raised in Munich, Menz moved to the United Kingdom in the 2000s to study product design at Central Saint Martins College, part of the University of the Arts London. She never, however, considered herself strictly a product designer.

Credits:
We thank Nina Siegal for the beautiful story and 1stDibs Introspective for the feature.