Tag Archives: sustainable

Loz Abberton is the antithesis of a creative recluse. Whilst she may dream up and create her designs way out on the Carlton Bluff on the southern coastline of Tasmania, her personality is so warm and vivacious, that when you first meet it feels like you are old friends coming together again for a chat.

I was fortunate to meet up with Loz of Who Did That at the Design Made Trade Show in Melbourne a few months ago, where she had an attractive display showcasing her Grandelier lights. 

The first range of the Who Did That Grandeliers have been released in a plain bamboo finish which exude a simple understated elegance of their own. Plans are also afoot over the next few months to introduce screen printed and flocked designs to further complement the range.

The Baroque and Bloom lights can each be used as either a pendant light, floor light, or sideboard light – making it one very versatile creation. Using “future friendly” materials is important to Loz, and after some searching sourced sustainable carbonised bamboo and hoop pine which is laser cut to make the lamps.

Loz has a background in graphic design and fashion, and since moving from Queensland to Tasmania in 2006 has drawn her inspiration from her natural environs – she is surrounded by Casuarina forests, Mt Wellington, Carlton Beach and the River. 

 Loz found some time (such a marvellous lass) in her busy schedule to share herself with us a little more…

1)    I started my business  …… when I deferred from architecture. Shaping spaces through illumination and transformative shadows seems lighter on our physical and cultural landscapes. Sure, living in a lamp would be awkward! But as far as invoking memories and emotions, a thoughtfully founded light shares a similar path as a sympathetically designed building.

2)    The best part of my job is ….. receiving spontaneous feedback; conjuring dyes from my domain for printing; and naturally, dispatching Grandeliers. Yep, self-serving moments are essential.

3)    My biggest challenge is ….. to illuminate an ecological world…without sounding clichéd.

 4)    My typical day involves …… discovery and fun. Sure, I’m busy but design isn’t “work”. Is it?

 5)    I relax by …… considering forms, usually with both eyes closed – a method involving a good dose of daydreaming. And from our headland watching slow-motion surfers (!) on the languid waves of Carlton Beach. Being in, on and near the water is an instinctive desire for me.

 6)    I tread a little lighter on the environment ….. in a coastal house and studio, using stand alone solar, rainwater, and created from future-friendly materials. I also design objects that meld form, with aspects of craft and art; while using sustainable materials such as bamboo and hoop pine. This filters from a country upbringing where items and resources often had several uses – being repaired or reused was a natural progress.

 7)    In the next year….. the plan is to have the Grandeliers shedding light in many, many more spaces to become part of the design vernacular; evolve my lighting forms; and open my studio as a hub for print workshops using natural dyes and influence derived from the Tasmanian terrain. Yes, printed Grandeliers are coming…so standby.

 Between now and the end of the year, Who Did That Grandeliers are being featured at a number of exhibitions and markets around the southern States of Australia – See below for details:

Fringe Furniture Sep 22 – Oct 10

Melbourne Fringe Festival

The Substation, Newport

Bowerbird Bazaar  Oct 8-10

Queens Theatre

Adelaide

Henry Jones Art Hotel, Hobart

Grandeliers Installation

September 2010

Magnolia Square Oct 21-23

Malvern Town Hall Melbourne

And you can now purchase the Grandeliers online through State of Green too!

SUBSCRIBE to the State of Green blog for all our latest news, reviews and interviews! Just pop you email address into the box in the top right corner of this blog, and you will receive our blogs hot off the press !