Steltz, one of the country’s leading dealers of high-end lighting fixtures, recently introduced two lines from Italian brand Flos: IC Lights and String Lights.

IC—named after the initials used by the English police to categorize a person’s perceived ethnicity, creed and gender—is characterized by contrasting straight lines and circles in the form of rods that hold a series of glass spheres.

The IC line has table lamps, floor lamps and suspension lamps in different sizes and forms. Its metal rods are done either in antique bronze or silver finish. Each sphere is made of hand-blown Murano glass.

“Both lines were launched October of last year,” said Singapore-based Paul McNamara, Flos regional sales manager for Asia-Pacific. “Response for the String has been very good. We’ve had more success with the IC in bronze finish.”

The String’s lighting fixture has the shape of either a cone or sphere. As its name implies, the light is attached to a long string, which makes it more flexible than the IC. Any excess string can be spun into a spool.

Intentions

While both lines were intended to double as design statements, the IC is more permanent and structured. In contrast, the String is subject to numerous interpretations depending on the user’s or interior designer’s intentions.

Using a network of String Lights within a particular space is a design statement unto itself. Its lights can be dimmed or turned off in three ways: with a conventional switch or footplate; by touching the wire itself; or with the use of a Flos-designed app.

IC LIGHTS in bronze finish give this room a stylish Art Deco feel

The IC lights can be equally versatile. The bronze finish goes well with “classical” houses, said McNamara, while the chrome version works well for more contemporary settings, including the office.

Inspirations

String and IC Lights in their many forms PHOTOS BY ALEXIS CORPUZ

PAUL McNamara, Flos’ regional sales manager for Asia-Pacific, with Jennifer Stelthon-Jose, Steltz’s president, and Ma. Theresa Bernabe, Steltz’s general manager

Designed by London-based Cypriot designer Michael Anastassiades, both lines were inspired by everyday objects he encountered while traveling through Europe.

“I came across a YouTube clip of a contact juggler,” said Anastassiades in a press statement. “He has these spheres that were spinning so perfectly, you couldn’t even see them move. They look perfectly balanced and still. The clip became my starting point in designing IC Lights.”

His inspiration for String Lights came while he was sitting on a train as it whizzed by the European countryside one night.

“When I travel by train, I always see these strings of electricity from my window,” he said. “The scene is so beautiful and poetic, especially the way they connect to those pylons. But at the same time, they divide the landscape. I wanted to translate this scene into interior architecture.”

Steltz has exclusively represented Flos in the Philippines since 1994. Its new showroom at Shangri-La Plaza’s East Wing also features other high-end lighting brands.