Orphan Work Floor Lamp

The inventive New York–based design duo of Christian Lopez Swafford and Lauren Larson have two separate lines, one artsy and one practical: It gives them the ability to tackle almost any need, and it’s more fun to stretch themselves by making a variety of objects. Their most expressive pieces fall under their Material Lust banner.

The Material Lust pieces tend to be works that surf the line between art and design, best epitomized by the ML190011 coffee table, whose top and 12 legs are covered in sweatshirts emblazoned with POLICE — provocative and fun, though perhaps not for everyone.

The Orphan Work brand comprises the duo's more sensible items, including a chic rectangular alabaster sconce that, like all their work, has become catnip for decorators and architects like Jamie Drake, Annabelle Selldorf and Kelly Wearstler. As Swafford puts it, “The heavy hitters are starting to find us.” The designers launched their two-pronged business in 2013.

“Lauren was doing interior design for Victoria Hagan, and I was doing product design for Bill Sofield,” says Swafford, describing their previous careers. They both attended the Parsons School of Design, where they met.

Swafford grew up in Washington, D.C., and Mexico; Larson is from Oregon. “We both had moms who were painters,” says Swafford, adding that despite their maternal fine-art influence, “I think we both knew we would go into design to make a living.”

The Material Lust line features an item called ML19002 that could be described as a bench or a cocktail table. It’s crafted from steel and wood, shapely and well made but not terribly out of the ordinary. What gives it the signature Material Lust frisson is that it has a separate cover of perfectly stretched latex. Swafford and Larson refer to applying and removing this as “performing” the piece.

When the cover is on, the ML19002 can’t really be used and might more properly be considered an artwork. Explains Swafford, “We’ve been finding that it’s a lot to sell a client a piece of sculpture and say, ‘Don’t ever use this.’ They want to know it can be touched and interacted with, so when people come here, we show them how.”

References to the body seem to populate the Material Lust line — the Crepuscule floor lamp, for example, looks like a giant eyeball on tripod legs. So it’s no surprise that the late, great artist Louise Bourgeois, who plumbed psychologically complex and personal themes, is an inspiration for the pair.

Larson and Swafford showed pieces from Material Lust at the Independent art fair in New York in 2019, which marked how far they are pushing their work toward the category of fine art. Unlike many designers occupying that borderland, though, they generally don’t make multiple editions of their pieces.

The ML190011 table, with its POLICE-printed sweatshirts, has become something of a signature for the duo. It was inspired by the hoodies being sold on Canal Street not far from their loft. “We tried to make this thing anxiety inducing,” says Larson. “The Material Lust line allows us to explore the uncomfortable, critical or darker side of things. We’ve been using the word ominous.”

The Contemporary 102 dining table (2019), a beautiful slab of oak on two dowel-like legs, epitomizes the simplicity of Orphan Work’s aesthetic. “Our slogan for the brand is ‘design to complement,’ because we don’t want it to be a statement,” says Larson. “We want it to be a really timeless piece that grounds the room.”

Find Material Lust lighting, tables, case pieces and other furniture on 1stDibs.

A revival in the popularity of authentic Minimalist furniture is rooted in history while reflecting the needs and tastes of the 21st century. Designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s aphorism that “less is more” influenced the evolution of 20th-century interiors with an emphasis on function and order. This was a shift from the 19th century, with its lavish Victorian decorating, and was spread around the world through design styles including Bauhaus and brutalism.

Yet Minimalism was present in furniture design long before the clean lines of modernism, such as in the simple and elegant utility of Shaker furniture. Although the Minimalist art movement of the 1960s and ’70s had little crossover with furniture design, artist Donald Judd was inspired by the Shakers in creating his own spare daybeds and tables from sturdy wood. (Judd, whose advocacy of symmetry also informed his architectural projects, furnished his Manhattan loft with unassuming but poetic works by iconic modernist designers such as Gerrit Rietveld and Alvar Aalto.)

Understatement rather than ornamentation and open space instead of clutter are central themes for a Minimalist living room and bedroom. As opposed to Maximalism, the focus for Minimalist furniture and decor is on simplicity and considering the design and purpose of every object.

Furnishings are usually made in neutral or monochrome colors and pared down to their essentials — think nesting coffee tables, sectional sofas and accent pieces such as ottomans. And Minimalist ceramics can help achieve a decor that is both timeless and of the moment. The organic textures and personalization of handmade craftsmanship associated with these works have served as a sort of anti-Internet to screen-weary decorators. That said, while the thoughtful ergonomics of Scandinavian modern furniture, with its handcrafted teak frames, are at home in Minimalist spaces, so are the quietly striking pieces by Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa that employ industrial materials like stainless steel, aluminum and plastic.

Minimalist furniture is not for making flashy statements; it boasts subdued appeal and excels at harmonizing with any room. And, as it encompasses many different movements and eras of design, it also never goes out of style, owing to its tasteful refinement.

Find a collection of Minimalist tables, seating, lighting and more furniture on 1stDibs.

The modern floor lamp is an evolution of torchères — tall floor candelabras that originated in France as a revolutionary development in lighting homes toward the end of the 17th century. Owing to the advent of electricity and the introduction of new materials as a part of lighting design, floor lamps have taken on new forms and configurations over the years. 

In the early 1920s, Art Deco lighting artisans worked with dark woods and modern metals, introducing unique designs that still inspire the look of modern floor lamps developed by contemporary firms such as Luxxu. 

Popular mid-century floor lamps include everything from the enchanting fixtures by the Italian lighting artisans at Stilnovo to the distinctly functional Grasshopper floor lamp created by Scandinavian design pioneer Greta Magnusson-Grossman to the Paracarro floor lamp by the Venetian master glass workers at Mazzega. Among the more celebrated names in mid-century lighting design are Milanese innovators Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, who, along with their eldest brother, Livio, worked for their own firm as architects and designers. While Livio departed the practice in 1952, Achille and Pier Giacomo would go on to design the Arco floor lamp, the Toio floor lamp and more for legendary lighting brands such as FLOS. 

Today’s upscale interiors frequently integrate the otherworldly custom lighting solutions created by a wealth of contemporary firms and designers such as Spain’s Masquespacio, whose Wink floor lamps integrate gold as well as fabric fringes. 

Visual artists and industrial designers have a penchant for floor lamps, possibly because they’re so often a clever marriage of design and the functions of lighting. A good floor lamp can change the mood of any room while adding a touch of elegance to your entire space. Find yours now on 1stDibs.