Foscarini is the Italian spirit creating lights that illuminate the meaning
From a small island to the world, from Murano glass to the industrial production of unconventional materials, Foscarini is the story of a brand that in a few decades became one of the key players in the lighting design industry.
Foscarini was founded in 1981 on the world-renowned glassmaking island of Murano — a place where Venetian glass masters had been perfecting their craft for centuries. Since 1291, when the Venetian government ordered glassmakers to move their furnaces to the lagoon’s northern island for fire-safety reasons, Murano became the historic heart of glass artistry, with techniques passed down through generations.
In its early years, the company embraced this heritage fully, working exclusively with Murano glass to create lighting systems for the contract sector. Only two years after its foundation, they opened to new markets and distribution channels with Foscarini’s first catalogue collection of design lamps, designed by Carlo Urbinati and Alessandro Vecchiato, who in 1988 took over the management becoming the company owners.
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During the years, the company was able to adapt to changes opening to new materials other than Murano glass, unusual shapes and ideas and to collaborations with external designers: because of its development and growth, they moved to the mainland in 1994 and is now based in Marcon, near Venice.
Foscarini – Higlights:
Wassily on the wall by Adam Tihany and Joseph Mancini – 1985
In 1985, the Brand opened to collaborations with external designers. The first result was the Wassily on the wall applique, designed by Adam Tihany and Joseph Mancini, a Bauhaus-inspired piece conceived as a combination of solid figures with primary colors made of Murano glasses.
Lumiere by Rodolfo Dordoni – 1990
Designed by Rodolfo Dordoni in 1990, Lumiere represents the company’s first major success: restyling the classic table lamp, Dordoni blends Murano blown glass and die-cast metal, a combination that tells the story of a company at a crossroads between its handcrafted spirit and industrial ambition.
Re-edited in a special limited edition for its 30 years, Lumiere is still one of the Brand’s biggest successes, a constantly relevant icon that gave birth to an entire family of lamps.
Orbital by Ferruccio Laviani – 1992
The Orbital lamp, first product made of industrial glass, represents Ferruccio Laviani’s debut in lighting design: along with Bit, its wall version, this multi-coloured sculptural lamp evokes the atmospheres of galaxy nebulas and is part of the collection of worldwide museums, including the NY MoMA.
Havana by Jozeph Forakis – 1993
The company’s first foray into materials other than Murano glass was a risk commissioned to Jozeph Forakis, which turned out to be a huge success: named Havana for its cigar-like shape, the inimitable design of this suffused lamp realized in injection moulded polyethylene granted Foscarini another space at the NY MoMA.
Mite and Tite by Marc Sadler – 2000
The collaboration between Foscarini and Marc Sadler begins with Mite, a floor lamp whose decisive technological innovative spirit won the Compasso D’Oro: the mixture of carbon thread acts both as decoration and frame, just as in the suspended Tite lamp, where the genius combination of fibreglass and black carbon thread is at the same time graphic and functional.
About the author
A passion for fashion and design, an obsession for ice cream. Copywriter, storyteller and outstanding cook, traveling during winter to warmer places. Living in Italy, since always and forever.
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