Marc Sadler talks about Tulip: his latest project for Slamp

17 June 2022

The inspiration is simple and poetic: a field of tulips moved by the wind. An image that embodies strength and delicacy at the same time, a traditional image and therefore not easy to translate into contemporary language. The designer Marc Sadler succeeds in his most recent project for Slamp, a lighting brand with a fresh and surprising style. A style that fits perfectly with the design approach of this Austrian designer but based in Milan, who from the very beginning wanted to experiment with different areas of creativity, exploring different materials, processes and aesthetics. Always seeking the balance of form and function, also sanctioned by the success it has collected over the years, and the prizes won by his projects. His style appears playful but hides a deep design awareness and the intention, as he himself says, to always listen to the companies he collaborates with to promote a mutual exchange of ideas and skills.

A design that surprises and enchants

Surprise is perhaps the most immediate effect one has in front of the Tulip, an explosion of flowers that seem to float in space. The tulips are in fact suspended from an almost invisible steel cable and are linked together by a thin copper wire which at the same time creates an interesting decorative effect and conducts electricity. The apparently casual arrangement of the various elements is instead carefully studied to offer comfortable lighting and an enchanting play of light. The technology is made even more precious by the manufacturing: the tulip corollas are in fact made of Lentiflex®, a material that Slamp has hand-molded to reproduce the beauty and uniqueness of a very high quality product. The ceiling rose from which the various elements are suspended can be round or rectangular in shape, in brushed brass. The tulips can be 7 or 14 and there is also a variant, in which the flowers are not suspended from the rose window but freestanding and therefore freely modular.

What was the formal inspiration for the Tulip lamp?

Even from the name it is clear that it is nature, a beautiful tulip field is the closest association I think of!

What are the technologies involved?

The opportunity to deform Lentiflex®, the material that Slamp has learned to model by hand with incredible skill, allows you to create complex figures capable of faithfully reproducing features that nature is capable of giving us each in its own uniqueness. For the rest it is a set made of brass stems, steel cables that hold the flowers in tension and a refined low-voltage electrical conduction system that powers the LED light sources of the flowers. A perfectly functional set with such an ethereal appearance!

In collaborating with Slamp, what are the aspects of the company that have given you the most inspiration?

The youth, the enthusiasm and dynamism of collaborators for whom there is no “can’t do”: the sky is the limit!

Is there a common trait, a recurring ideal in all your projects that you feel you can identify with?

Respect the personality of the client company, contributing if possible to its improvement in terms of product offering to help it grow … and I with it.

What is the key feature of well-designed furniture today?

The fact that it is based on the context in which it is inserted but also its opposite, that is, that it explodes with personality and emerges within its own sphere. The middle ground makes no sense.

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