The future looks bright for Andlight's Heintzman
Vancouver design studio Andlight is known for its beautiful creations. The Iris pendant series, released this year and designed by industrial designer Caine Heintzman, who co-founded Andlight with Lucas Peet in 2009, is yet another example.
The Iris pendant is described as kaleidoscopic, orb-like and atmospheric. It's not named after a woman or the flower, but instead the iris part of our eyes.
“The iris is sort of like a diaphragm that controls how much light goes in and out of the eye. That's one reference point, as well as it sort of looks like a big eye,” says Heintzman.
ALL ABOUT IRIS
Heintzman says he didn't set out to create a design reminiscent of an eye, but through an exploration of material and a process, it naturally led to that point.
When he started designing it, he did have a picture in his mind of how the shape and texture he was using would be great for diffusing light.
“It kind of distorts how the light actually looks on the inside and how it bounces around.”
The Iris pendant is Andlight's largest light so far. It casts a warm light and seems almost weightless, like an optical illusion. Because of its size, it suits being in any roomy open space. Over a long table or a stairwell, or perhaps in a corner, he adds.
Heintzman says that people shouldn't be intimidated or shy about putting large luminaires in their homes. From a practical point of view, every product Andlight manufactures, sells and ships is serviceable. Coupled with state-of-the-art LED technology, the durability of the products has never been an issue.
STOPS AND STARTS
When it comes to Heintzman's process for creating award-winning lights, he doesn't often start with a particular reference point in mind but more of a fascination for small, everyday items that together form larger mechanisms. For instance, how handles and screws become components of something bigger, he says.
The designer is also inspired and motivated by the materials he uses.
It generally takes about two years from a concept on paper to a completed product ready to be shipped. There can be a lot of stops and starts along the design process, and many projects sit in his sketchbook until they're ready to become more fully realized. Some never are, he says.
Constraints are a big part of his work, says Heintzman. “Constraints from the product are the materials and the process to physical and scale constraints. Or self-imposed constraints like `how's it going to be assembled? How's it shipping?' Those are all things that play into it.”
He says there is no fixed number of how many projects Andlight completes each year. But for him, there's generally one large and more involved project with several smaller projects throughout the year.
WHERE MAGIC HAPPENS
Andlight operates out of East Vancouver's Hastings-sunrise neighbourhood, with about 18,000 square feet of space and thirty employees, producing the company's sought-after range of luminaires that ship worldwide.
The team designs, builds, assembles and tests everything in-house, says Heintzman.
In October, Heitzman was recognized by the BC Achievement Foundation as a recipient of the Judson Beaumont Emerging Artist award, named in honour of the late B.c.-based furniture designer.
“It was nice,” he says.