Design Daily: New Neon Lighting from Brooklyn’s Mary Wallis
Author:Sarah Virginia WhiteThe best thing about attending ICFF (other than the awesome swag bags, of course), is discovering the amazing work of designers that haven’t been on my radar. Count Australian lighting designer Mary Wallis among that group. She elevates neon lighting—the medium of tacky beer promos and bar signs—into hand-bent works of art. The newest addition to Wallis’ collection is the Melbourne mobile (at right, above), an articulating design named after her hometown in Australia.
Compared to the minute diodes one can discern in direct-LED lighting designs, the diffused glow of a neon bulb is arresting. It’s relaxing and sexy, and when presented bare, in hand-bent designs such as the Neon Table Lamp, it’s also extraordinarily modern. But the Brooklyn-based designer, who worked at Lindsay Adelman Studios before striking out on her own, doesn’t restrict herself to the gas bulbs. I also admired the Eadie, a stunning pendant of beveled-glass with brass finishes, below.
Neon Table Lamp by Mary Wallis
Eadie by Mary Wallis
Some of Wallis’ designs are carried by The Future Perfect, which has an outpost in San Francisco in addition to its New York flagship. You can find the neon table lamp there, but for the hot new Melbourne, head over to the designer’s website. Bonus: it’s customizable in larger or smaller sizes.
Melbourne by Mary Wallis, $2,000 per light.
