Crystal Lighting as Jewelry for Your Home
A captivating trend has emerged in interior design, “Lighting as Jewelry for Your Home.” Just as exquisite jewelry enhances a person’s appearance, crystal lighting elevates the ambiance of a living space, infusing it with elegance, charm and a touch of luxury.
Crystal has long been revered for its natural beauty and spiritual significance. The elements can refract and reflect illumination, creating a mesmerizing play of colors and patterns, turning any room into a dazzling masterpiece.
Lighting as jewelry for your home harnesses the innate qualities of crystal and transforms them into functional art pieces that illuminate and enchant. It’s the principle behind why Schonbek CEO and visionary Dirk Wald developed the concept of a “jewelry lighting line” that evolved into the exquisite and popular Forever by Schonbek Collection, which debuted in 2023.
The Making of the Forever by Schonbek Collection
Roslyn Yando has been with Schonbek for over 30 years and is the primary designer for the Forever Collection. Many past signature Schonbek lighting designs have been inspired by her love of jewelry, such as Sarella, Chrysalita, Vesca and other sparkling masterpieces.
The Forever concept evolved from the design of one pendant. “I was working on the piece that eventually became the Laurel pendant, combining metal leaves with clear crystal into a circle. A jeweled brooch pin inspired me,” explains Roslyn. “Dirk saw it and said, ‘Oh, I think this would be so cool for a jewelry line,’ and we kept going from there.”
“For the fixtures that became the Serenity collection, I found a crystal ring with a flat spot. I began to glue on octagons and pearls to fill in the flat area,” she said. “From there, the design team and Dirk began thinking of other relevant shapes and designs for this new collection.”
From Inspiration Comes Great Design
While the overall theme of Forever is Jewelry for Your Home, inspiration for individual fixtures comes from many places. Roslyn’s vision for beautiful clear optic chunks layered with the sparkling octagons and Swarovski pearls came from the delicate work of sea organisms settled on ship’s hulls and other oceanic objects. However, she did not tell anyone and was surprised when Dirk and Chade Recore, a Schonbek engineer, suggested the graceful pendants should hang from a rope, furthering the nautical theme of the Addesion, Eva, Flora, Serenity and Trinity pendants and table lamps.
The Revere luminaires are reminiscent of a beautiful necklace, with handcrafted flowers, draped chains and an orb within a metal cage.
“The Revere Collection’s metal elements are handmade- there’s nothing we buy off the shelf. We design them, cut them on our laser machine, hand-finish them, and hand-pin crystal onto them. At Schonbek, we make our own ‘pretty’ and believe that pretty never goes out of style.”
Artisanal Lighting, Based on History
One of the primary strengths of Schonbek is its longevity and history. Schonbek has been designing and creating crystal lighting since its beginning in Bohemia in 1870. It’s important to note that only some companies that make crystal chandeliers are authentic manufacturers. Some are mere assemblers. That’s not the case with Schonbek. From the genesis of a design, its engineering, handmaking metal parts and frames and hand pinning every piece of crystal, all the work is done by artisans in its Plattsburgh, NY manufacturing facility.
As the Schonbek lighting designers, Roslyn and her colleagues Andy Schuyler and Meredith Gratton are free to play with pieces and parts accumulated over the years in the factory. They can bring a concept to an engineer to see if it can work as a lighting fixture and confer with skilled toolmakers and other production people who can bring that concept into a reality in hours or days. And they have access to many crystal shapes, metal pieces and other odds and ends accumulated over the years of Schonbek’s storied past.
Leftover elements were the origin of the Eternity pendants, explained Roz. “I found a fixture frame from long ago, and Dirk and I thought it looked like an earring. My vision was to keep the frame simple, to complement the crystal within—imagine a firework exploding in this metal cage, almost like a party going on inside.”
Bringing Table Lamps to Light
One of the most alluring aspects of crystal lighting is its versatility. Whether your style is classic, modern, minimalist or eclectic, there’s a lighting fixture in the Forever by Schonbek Collection to complement your taste. Chandeliers, pendant lights, wall sconces, and even table lamps adorned with crystals instantly become the focal point of a room, casting a warm and inviting glow. The interplay between light and crystal establishes a dynamic atmosphere, casting intricate shadows that dance across walls and surfaces.
The Forever Collection showcases several table lamps, including the majestic Zoe and the substantial Auroa designed to be placed strategically to highlight their beauty and create a balanced look in a room. Intended as art pieces, the lamp’s significant scale and dazzling beauty offer a fresh, clean and crisp style, according to Roslyn.
The lamps are made from large pieces of pure Optic Crystal that showcase the rich design of the Radiance™ Crystal octagons and Swarovski pearl ornamentation. They are combined with clean metal frames and unusual elements like rope, and the contrast between these elements introduces an energy that sets these designs apart.
Traditional Handwork, Aided by Robot
Roslyn created each pattern of embellishment freehand for many of the Forever pieces, deciding where every octagon should be placed and filling in the gaps with smaller crystals and pearls. But when the luminaires are produced, the elements are attached with the aid of a robot. Programmed by Schonbek engineer Robin Jarvis under Roslyn’s direction, the robot points to where the Schonbek craftsperson will place each piece of crystal or pearl and then glues it on with UV glue.
Other pieces in the Forever Collection are produced using Schonbek’s time-honored practices of concentrating lovingly on all the details that make these exquisite luminaires: metal cutting, hand finishing and hand-pinning. Even the pins that attach the crystal to their frames are handmade at Schonbek’s upstate New York facility.
Sculptural Masterpieces of Art + Design
The beauty of the Forever Collection lies in its ability to seamlessly merge functionality with artistry. Crystal lighting fixtures are not mere accessories; they’re sculptural masterpieces that add a touch of glamour to any room. They can transform a mundane dining area into a lavish banquet room or turn a simple bedroom into a sanctuary of luxury.
Forever by Schonbek is genuinely jewelry for your home. Illuminated from concealed LEDS that touch each crystal and creates brilliant light effects, these lights are works of art—statement pieces designed to enhance the ambiance of luxury spaces. Each opulent Forever luminaire accessorizes its surroundings with brilliance and light, visually celebrating a luxurious lifestyle.
The “Jewelry for Your Home” trend has captured the hearts of design enthusiasts for its ability to marry beauty, functionality and spirituality. By incorporating these dazzling luminaires into your living spaces, you’re not just adding illumination; you’re adorning your home with radiant gems that enhance the ambiance and invite awe-inspired conversations. Just as jewelry completes an outfit, crystal lighting completes a room, leaving an indelible impression of sophistication and allure.
Discover the entire jewelry-inspired Forever by Schonbek Collection here.
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