Lighting

Staff -- Interior Design, 5/31/2011 10:56:00 AM

The Osaka-based industrial designer formed his eponymous company to distribute his own work-four decades' worth-plus that of local artisans, honoring his lifelong devotion to Japanese craftsmanship. This dedication is apparent in his Pao lamps, produced from handmade washi paper and affixed to a metal frame, which can hang or stand on the floor. Rubber parts keep the compactly folding frame and core rigid. 81-66-2331948; toshiyukikita.com.

Luxit

This pint-size powerhouse-it fits in your palm-sports four half-watt LED lights whose total output equals that of a 60-watt incandescent bulb; optical lenses spread the lamp's glow. Designed by Alberto Basaglia and Natalia Rota Nodari, Top Four's Lego-like form, in thermoplastic-finished extruded aluminum, can be configured numerous ways. Through Leucos, 732-225-0010; leucosusa.com.

Arturo Alvarez

French designer Matali Crasset's Rhizome is handcrafted from a single, shimmering sheet of white-painted metal with either yellow or silver detailing. Illuminated by CFL bulbs, the fixture shown measures 23 ½ across by 35 ½ inch high; also available in other sizes. 34-981-81-46-00; arturo-alvarez.com. 

Corbett Lighting

The California-based company's Alter Ego sconce flaunts an iconic '60s motto to make a sly antiestablishment statement-or to pay homage to a fondly remembered past. The solid-brass fixture is topped with a hardback linen shade and measures 5 ¼ inches wide by 26 inches tall. 626-336-4511; corbettlighting.com.

Freedom of Creation

The Dutch company, a pioneer of 3-D rapid prototyping, collaborated with industrial designer-and Interior Design Hall of Famer-Karim Rashid to produce Cross. The collection includes table, ceiling, and floor fixtures that top powdercoated-steel bases with shades in laser-sintered polyamide. 31-20-675-84-15; freedomofcreation.com.

Lisa Fontanarosa

A wizard with wire, French sculptor Marie Christophe (Hermès, Dior, and Cartier are clients) fashions everything from bicycles to human forms with a mere pair of clippers. Her ethereal Lustre Oiseau chandelier is draped from tip to toe with sparkling crystals; a jewel-encrusted bird perches on one arm. Each piece is signed by the artist. 505-872-1929; lisafontanarosa.com.

Manufacturas Celda

Barcelona designer Martín Azúa, whose credits include kitchenware for Ferran Adrià and rugs for Nanimarquina, created the aptly named Skyline lighting series. The laser-cut and -bent steel lamps come in floor, suspension, wall, and table versions; the latter, shown, measures 10 1/5 inches in diameter by 20 ½ inches high.
Through Lepere, 212-488-7000; lepereinc.com

LZF Lamps

With its overlapping layers of plywood veneer, Armadillo evokes its leathery-skinned namesake-but is much better
looking. The veneer scales are treated to polymer for added strength, rendering the finished product sturdy yet flexible and thin enough to filter light. Designed by Luis Esclava and produced by hand, the pendant comes in a version that's 41 inches across by 27½ inches high and another that's 31 inches across by 19½ inches high. In orange, red, or American white wood colorways. 914-591-4095; lzf-lamps.com.