Dezeen Magazine

Bec Brittain's latest lighting collection features LED tubes arranged in diamond shapes

New York 2015: Brooklyn-based lighting designer Bec Brittain has launched a lighting collection called Zelda, based on diamond-shaped forms, as well as a new range of light diffusers.

Made from LED tubes with brass settings, the Zelda collection comprises three designs that offer different configurations using the same primary shape.

"I made these new pieces of hardware which allow me to make these diamonds rather than triangulate the structure," Brittain told Dezeen.

Zelda 2 by Bec Brittain
Zelda

Zelda is a single diamond outline that is suspended from the ceiling so that it hangs horizontal to the floor.

Zelda Links features three of the same shapes all arranged at different angles along a horizontal axis, with the central diamond interlocking with the outer two like links in a chain.

Zelda Links 2 by Bec Brittain
Zelda Links with diffuser

Zelda Orbits follows a similar principle, with a larger diamond attached to a smaller inner one, pivoting on the corners.

"I call it Zelda Orbits because it feels like planetary orbits," said Brittain.

Zelda Links 2 by Bec Brittain
Zelda Links with diffuser

All three designs are available in nine different metal finishes and five different glass finishes, and are made to order at Brittain's studio in Brooklyn.

Zelda Links 2 by Bec Brittain
Zelda Links with diffuser

"I think I'll continue to play with different configurations and how to link them and how to stack them," said the designer. "Essentially I have a new system I can now exploit and see what I can get out of it."

Zelda Orbits 2 by Bec Brittain
Zelda Orbits

Brittain started her own studio in 2011, after working for fellow New York designer Lindsey Adelman for three years. She is now one of the core figures in the booming New York lighting scene, and is known for using tubes of light to create geometric light fittings.

Zelda Orbits 2 by Bec Brittain
Zelda Orbits

The Zelda collection was shown alongside a new range of light diffusers at the city's International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), which concluded yesterday.

Zelda Orbits 2 by Bec Brittain
Zelda Orbits

Made from glass with either a white or two-way mirror finish, the diffusers can be mounted in front of a light bulb on any of Brittain's LED-based designs to soften the light it emits.

Themis 6 by Bec Brittain
Themis 6

"They are kind of decorative but they cover the bulb. I think some people have an issue with sort of staring at a bare bulb," said Brittain. "There's also a material lushness, which I like."

SHY Sconce by Bec Brittain
Shy Sconce

Also shown at ICFF was a new sconce made from a marble base, a prism of blown glass and a brass wall plate, which will be added to Brittain's existing Themis collection.

Skyhook by Bec Brittain
Skyhook

The Shy Sconce is also an addition to an existing collection, which was first launched in Milan in 2011, with a single tube of light mounted on a simple metal backplate. This is available in three lengths and multiple finishes.

Skyhook by Bec Brittain
Skyhook

Skyhook 2 and Skyhook 3 are smaller versions of the designer's pendant lights, available in a nickel or brushed brass finish. These are also the first in a new initiative by Brittain's studio to create a range of products that can be shipped in a much shorter time frame than usual.