Last week was a crazy hectic week full of meetings, farewell drinks, an excellent pattern workshop with artist Jessica Swift at WeMake and an amazing weekend spent checking out Tacoma and Olympia with my baby sis. I've had an idea to focus on elements that make up a building or a space, and one of my favorite things are light fixtures. So, why not start there?

My friend attended a hospitality trade show last year in Vegas and came back with info about light fixture #1 and I knew it would be the star of my lighting roundup (& not just because it has adorable bronze birds in the mix!). This image does not do the scale of this pendant light justice, it is absolutely huge! There are components in this pendant light common to all these current on-trend fixtures, let's break it down.

The main one is the hand made quality of the paper cloud volumes, which speaks to the heavy influence of the artisan appeal. Elements that are handmade and delicately crafted are resonating with a public that is tired of mass production. The second component are the bronze bird elements, the metal alloys of brass and copper are popular finishes in today's fixtures. The warm, earthy quality of these yellow and amber hues are a departure from the shiny chrome and silver tones prevalent in past years. The third and last element to note is the natural theme of the fixture itself. Today designers are being heavily inspired by the natural world. Choosing materials like glass, wood and metals and carefully highlighting their natural imperfections. As well, creating fixtures reminiscent of DNA strings, spider webs or water droplets which conjure a deeper connection to the lighting piece than one might initially expect.

What do you see as trends in lighting today? What are your favorites? Let me know!