Prometheus Iv

Christopher Boots is an Australian lighting designer whose love of natural materials shines through in all of his creations. Boots’s contemporary lighting fixtures are made from brass and quartz crystals, giving them an ethereal glow. His designs include spectacular chandeliers and pendant lights, geometric wall lights and sculptural table lamps.

Boots was born in 1979 in Melbourne, Australia. He initially studied linguistics and literature before graduating from the National School of Design in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design. He apprenticed with pioneering lighting designer Geoffrey Mance and spent several years training in various lighting techniques before developing his unique style. 

In 2011, Boots opened the Christopher Boots lighting studio and released his first collection. The studio was founded on the idea of material and metaphysical exploration, combining geometry, symmetry, pattern and symbology. Every piece is made by hand, using both traditional techniques and cutting-edge technology. Boots works with sculptors, ceramicists, glass blowers, coppersmiths and bronze casters to create luminous fixtures.

“I am influenced by nature primarily,” Boots told The Study, “the way nature works and evolves through mathematics, biology and time.” Taking inspiration from nature, many of Boots’s lighting fixtures are modeled after the forms of stalactite, which he describes as “beautiful yet completely haunting.”

Boots’s lighting designs have been showcased at the National Gallery of Victoria, Parliament House in Melbourne, Rossana Orlandi, Hermès in Melbourne and Cassina in Japan.

On 1stDibs, find an extensive collection of Christopher Boots lighting.

The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.

Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.

Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat. 

Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.

As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.

There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation. 

With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.

The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale on 1stDibs.