EDWARD BARBER & JAY OSGERBY LOUIS VUITTON OBJETS NOMADES

"Craftsmanship is essential for our work."

After graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1996, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby founded BarberOsgerby, their design studio based in London. They're both Royal Designers for industry and in 2004 they received the prestigious Jerwood Applied Arts prize. Barber and Osgerby have created collections for several acclaimed European design companies and their works are exhibited in lots of permanent museal collections around the world including the V&A and Design Museum of London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. The duo has also designed the torch for the London Olympics of 2012.

Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have Collaborated with Louis Vuitton in the creation of an objet for the Objets Nomad collection: the Bell Lamp.

1# The Bell Lamp

An elegant marriage of the latest technologies and traditional savoir-faire, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby’s Bell Lamp is practical, cordless and solar-powered. A handcrafted frosted glass “bell” surrounds innovative LED lighting with four brightness settings, while a ring on its base allows it to be placed on any surface. A Nomade-leather strap means the Bell Lamp can be easily carried anywhere and everywhere, whether down the garden or out into the wilds.

Why did you agree to create an Objet Nomade for Louis Vuitton?

We were excited to work with Louis Vuitton and its rich history of craftsmanship and design. It was a great opportunity to bring a new kind of product to a company that has for so long pioneered the style and function of the objects we travel with.

What was your inspiration for this object?

The inspiration came from Louis Vuitton’s history of travel: we imagined a modern-day lantern. It is handmade in Venice by glass experts and then assembled with pioneering technology to allow it to be recharged by sunlight, as well as conventionally.

How do you use the workshops’ savoir-faire?

We were asked to bring our point of view to the discovery of a new kind of product. The Bell Lamp marries high-tech innovation with hand-blown Murano glass, infused with the same tradition of craftsmanship found in Louis Vuitton’s workshops thanks to the iconic Nomade-leather strap.