LEE BROOM: CREATING AMAZING CONTEMPORARY DESIGN OUT OF LONDON
Photos courtesy of Lee Broom
To showcase his latest collection, Lee Broom transformed his shop into "The Flower Shop" where he created a storefront that showed his new vase designs while under the guise of being a place to buy a fresh bouquet. Hello, genius.
London is a hotbed of great design right now. It feeds the inspiration of artists, creators, designers, stylists and buyers with its mix of old world charm and new world gleam. Right now two big design fairs are occurring simultaneously-- Decorex and the London Design Festival. A designer that caught my eye for his sleekly modern material mastery is Lee Broom, who showed at the festival and in his own pop up storefront. Established as an interior designer and product designer, he rolled out his first decor objects in 2007, after working for British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood, attending Central St Martins, and making the segue into interiors. In 2015, he received the highest honor, being awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise, for his outstanding design and commitment to British manufacturing. His fresh and theatrical take on brass, white marble and light is breathtaking. Here are some favorite pieces that leave me speechless. You can find it in New York at The Future Perfect and Property, and in LA at Twentieth and A + R
Photos courtesy of Lee Broom
Suspended circles of florescent light cut through a brass sphere that hangs from a tubular element in the Ring Light. Hmm were men's gymnastics an influence here? Could be.
A sliced orb of light with brass detailing appears to rest precariously in the Crescent Light. If lighting was every sexy, here's sexy. This also comes in a table lamp version.
The Globe Table Lamp is something out of Oz. It must have mystical, magical properties, right? Even if it doesn't its a standout. A Carrara marble base with an LED bulb casts an upward glow, and is capped by a crystal lid. Spectacular.
Known for the compelling interior build-outs he creates at Salone del Mobile, the annual furniture fair in Milan, he showed his new Split Mirror against a backdrop of pared-down mens dressing rooms. Round mirrors are having a big moment right now, and this is one of the coolest around.
You will have to wait till Spring 2016 to get your hands on the Shadow Collection. In a tromp l'oeil turn, the pieces of wood and brushed brass alternate, and appear to be solid or faceted, depending upon the angle you view them from. Pretty genius trickery.
The theatre school student turned fashion designer became a sparkling star of the interior design world