New York design studio Trueing has intended to put "an interesting spin on the familiar" with the bold hand-formed coloured glass chain links that feature in its latest collection of lighting.
Launched at this year's NYCxDesign festival, Trueing's Cerine series comprises two pendants, a floor lamp and a sconce.
The Brooklyn studio, founded by partners Aiden Bowman and Josh Metersky, found influences for the designs in a number of places. These include the delicate golden chain necklaces, rough metal versions found in ship yards and the decorative motifs featured in the facade of beaux-arts buildings.
"Chain is also common in traditional lighting design – we wanted to make something that would reinterpret that vernacular, putting an interesting spin on the familiar," Metersky said.
Hand-formed from thick borosilicate glass in bold and bright colours, the chain function as a way to place the lights in their prescribed spots, but also serve as the focal point of the design.
Each chain link is sized seven centimetres wide by 12 centimetres tall, and can be ordered for bespoke arrangements in seven opaque or transparent colours. The metal finishes for each piece come in brushed brass, satin or polished nickel, and oil rubbed bronze.
"The chain has a certain softness and character to it; what I love is that each link is hand-made, so they’re all a little bit different, but when you step back the whole thing just looks natural and perfect," Metersky continued.
Each of the lights in the series uses the chains to hold up mouth-blown glass bulbs in various ways.
One fixture attaches to the ceiling via two hooks, creating a large droop that resembles an inverse arch, while the sconce comprises three links that dangle from a metal arm holding the bulb.
The floor lamp, meanwhile, is made from nine pieces of stacked carrara marble with five pastel pink links hanging from an arched arm. The glass orb is available in either white opaline glass or a variety of custom colours.
Trueing debuted the collection this week at Pas De Calais, a Japanese clothing store in the Soho district of Manhattan. The partnership between the designers and the store was a natural collaboration, given their similar design aesthetic.
"The opportunity to install Cerine in the Pas De Calais space was super interesting for us because this collection very much about purity and nostalgia – recalling traditional pieces of design, but rendering them in an elemental and reductive manner – very much in keeping with the label’s ethos and aesthetic," said Bowman in a project description.
Trueing was founded by Bowman and Metersky in 2016. Cerine is the duo’s second collection after launching their debut range in January at The Future Perfect in Manhattan.
Cerine will be installed at the store located at 482 Broome Street until the end of the month, to coincide with NYCxDesign 2019 – which runs from 10 to 22 May.
Other exhibits taking place as part of the festival include showcase designs by Workstead and Calico Wallpaper inside Arcade Bakery and an immersive lighting installation by Snarkitecture.
Photography by Lauren Coleman, unless stated otherwise.