Overseas brands poised to make U.S. debut | Lighting Report

Our colleague, Andrea Lillo, executive editor of Designers Today, is at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas this week, and she shared some lighting intel from the show floor:

Hammerton Lighting is incorporating more stone into its fixtures. For example, Corinth is a linear fixture comprised of travertine tubes. The company is also featuring its Mandral pendant collection which highlights its skill with handcrafted glass. Within its sconce collection is Atmosphere, whose disks can be made of either glass or metal (a mobile-like wall-mount and a chandelier will also be available.)

Kichler, as we previously reported, is making its KBIS debut this week, and nearly everything in its booth is new and will also be shown at High Point in April. The company is trying to bring more integrated LED into traditional shapes, Lillo reports, with new collections such as Moraine, Riven and Larousse. They are all 3,000K. Leaning into a new traditional look is Eadie, a chandelier with fabric shades. The company also featured many new pendants, many of them oversized.

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KAIA Editions, the British/German luxury lighting brand known for its sculptural, statement-making designs, is making its long-awaited U.S. debut on March 12 with its first flagship gallery at the New York Design Center. Timed with NYDC’s Women in Design Day, the opening highlights KAIA’s female leadership and its mission to champion creativity and sustainability in the industry (“Longevity, repairability and recyclability are at the center of every piece,” the company said. It also said, “The brand intentionally avoids wasteful trade shows, focusing on curated installations with a message and ensuring materials are thoughtfully reused.”)

One of the collections that will be on display is Nektar, a chandelier designed by artist Maximilian Prüfer composed of 1,099 glass tubes filled with honey, “symbolizing biodiversity’s fragility and the urgent decline of pollinators.”

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Speaking of sustainable lighting, Ngala Trading is introducing MUD Studio, a collection of artistic handcrafted ceramic lighting made in South Africa from small-scale clay forms. Its recycled origins are symbolic of conscious living, according to the company.

“We are honored to partner with MUD Studio to introduce their visionary masterpieces to a broader audience of wildly talented American designers,” says Lawson Ricketts, Creative Director of Ngala Trading. “The layers of handmade ceramic pieces that grace these lighting forms have caught my eye for years. It feels fresh, authentically creative, and innovative. Designers come to Ngala Trading namely for our unique lighting designs; this introduction further cements our reputation as a resource for beautiful lighting. Our team looks forward to seeing these designs further transcend cultures and captivate beautiful homes across North America.”

MUD has a well-respected fan base of design visionaries, Ngala Trading said, seen in installations throughout the world by Kit Kemp, Ralph Lauren and MOMA.

The collection will make its in-person trade debut at High Point Market.