High Point's Best Dressed

When it came to lighting at Fall 2012's fashion-focused market, six trends stole the show.

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Native American

Buyers’ penchant for pattern led to new inspirations from familiar sources. Southwest style is a recurring trend touchstone and a regional classic, but the latest tribal rhythms didn’t play out in the same old way. On the Ganado lamp (far left) from Wildwood’s Museum of New Mexico Collection, a Greek key motif on wood recalls ancient artifacts.

Native American

On the IMAX Sanabria lamp, a Navajo-inspired pattern blends a woven-grass base with a bead-embellished shade. Ancient South American tribes were tapped, too, for design references.

Substantial Floor Lamps

In the category of floor lamps at High Point, bigger was better. A substantial shade sat on top of Palecek’s Joesphine Quattro.

Substantial Floor Lamps

Proportions for these portables, like the Frizzante lamp from Phillips Collection, pushed the boundaries of what the residential market typically can handle.

Lilac

Soothing ”spa” colors were everywhere in High Point: soft yellows, blues and greens that were more sophisticated than pastels, but quieter than the bold brights that have been taking us for a tango. Newest of these was lilac, as on Bradburn Gallery’s Miranda table lamp.

Lilac

This newest "spa" shade looked especially crisp in portables when paired with white shades, like on Port 68’s Rex Lilac lamp.

Fillable Bases

Clear glass portables with bases that can contain objects, like Regina-Andrew’s Keepsake table lamp, stood unassumingly in showrooms until their true function was revealed.

Fillable Bases

End-users can add personal mementos or decorative elements, like in Pacific Coast Lighting's Seascape Reflections table lamp, to fit a room’s décor — an illuminated riff on the bell jar trend seen in several accessory lineups.

Links

The latest manifestation of jewelry’s influence on lighting design appears to be the incorporation of linked elements. In Global Views’ Chain pendant, cascading gold links create a dramatic waterfall effect from inside the shade.

Links

Evoking bracelets and necklaces, joined rings of all shapes and sizes adorned portables and fixtures alike. On Currey & Co.’s Orli chandelier, circular links surround the fixture’s frame. Of course, all looked most elegant in the season’s hottest finish: matte gold.

Honeycomb

High Point buyers were buzzing for honeycomb patterns.The hexagonal designs and pentagons showed up in textures, like on the base of Thumprints’ Jewel table lamp.

Honeycomb

The hexagonal designs and pentagons also showed up in silhouettes, like the Robert Abbey Pythagoras pendant by Mary McDonald. We also saw plenty of repeated hexagonal patterns printed on shades and other textiles.

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