Oblure — Enlightening the Esoteric (Part I)
As I sit in my dimly lit livingroom, I can't help but feel a sense of mystery and intrigue. The shadows dance around me, concealing secrets and untold stories. It is in this atmosphere that I appreciate the beauty of Oblure, a Swedish lighting brand that transforms spaces with their exquisite lighting fixtures.
[Light and shadow, black and white, life and death - everything in the universe is interconnected, and the key to a harmonious existence lies in striking a balance between these opposing forces. The Balance Lamp, embodies this principle of balance and equilibrium, creating a mesmerising and captivating lighting fixture that is as functional as it is beautiful.]
Founded in 2017, Oblure has quickly gained recognition in the lighting industry for their cutting-edge designs and high-quality products. Their team of designers and engineers are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of lighting technology, creating products that that not only serves a utilitarian purpose but also exhibits an aesthetically captivating demeanor.
In a series of two articles, we will with the help of Deniz Canpinar (CEO and Owner of Oblure), delve into the world of Oblure. We will explore their design philosophy, their creative process, and the challenges they face in the industry.
Hi Deniz, lovely to get the chance to have a chat with you.
Can you tell us a bit about the history and founding of Oblure?
“Hi Rebecca, the pleasure is mine and thank you for showing interest in the work of Oblure.
Well, my partner Markus Johansson is the founder of the company and the first product was his Cirrata table lamp, which was his master degree project (2011) and it became the reason to founding the company Oblure. The project also gained both attention and recognition internationally. A couple of producers were interested to produce Cirrata, but over time he received answers that the Cirrata is too complex to be made within production and reasonable price range, also because the first concept was made in composite material Corian®.
Markus was told that he embarks on the mission impossible. He was persistent and did not gave up, the strive for six years brought the todays results the lamp was made exactly the way he wanted, with slightly change to the material Aluminum.
This is also one of the cornerstones of the company´s philosophy, if everyone can do it, then it's nothing for Oblure. The name Oblure is a union between the words ‘Object’ and ‘Lure’.”
The concept lays in the core of the brand in order to design and create alluring objects. Oblure was founded in 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden, with the desire to bring new innovative products in the field of lighting. Oblure is run by, Deniz Canpinar and Markus Johansson, two enthusiastic guys with different backgrounds, but sharing both passion and knowledge for lighting, design, function, and technology.
How would you describe Oblure's design aesthetic and approach to creating lighting products?
“With our skills and roots that are cemented in the Scandinavian design tradition we endorse the simplicity, the minimalistic, and the functional but it does not end there. In the spirit of creativity, we want to add furthermore.
“Our vision is to curate the original, the bold and the beautiful.”
— Deniz Canpinar, CEO and Owner of Oblure
For us a lamp is so much more than just light, it’s a piece of art. We therefore collaborate with international designers with our focus on creating a collection of products that shine a distinguishable character and celebrates innovative elements that not just surprise but also intrigue the beholder. Our vision is to curate the original, the bold and the beautiful.”
Can you walk us through the process of creating a new lighting product from idea to finished design?
“Absolutely, it will be a lot writing for you, ha ha ha.
We receive around 200 concepts per year from designers and architects around the world, for that we are very grateful for and it's also a recognition that we're doing something right.
It can be photographs of pencil sketches on a paper, high resolution 3D renders or advanced detailed 3D drawings. It doesn't matter which of those, as long as the designer can express his idea. We present the concepts for our design committee two to three times a year, consisting of five to six people. Me, Markus Johansson the Art director of the company, product construction engineer, lighting technology specialist, architect, and interior designer.
We are very humble and have great respect for the designer, we try to always reply as soon as we can to their proposals, and at this very beginning me and Markus is deciding if it is a concept worth continue with for Oblure. We are honest and straightforward with our reply and give a responsible explanation why we reject the concept, with encouragement of what to think about or improvements. We never close the doors, next time it might be a perfect match for us.
For the first round with the design committee, we make it simple and fast, ‘yes’ or ‘no’ with the first thoughts without reasoning or evaluating.
The YES doesn’t mean the whole concept, it can be something there in the drawing that we like and would like to proceed in another way. No don´t always means ‘no’, sometimes a concept that got no have returned to the evaluation process.
In the second we do the same procedure to keep the phase, because this process can take very long time, but on this stage, everyone must give a short explanation of their thoughts, what they like and like less. We then roll out too around ten concepts left for the third round. Now we dig deeper into details. I must mention one thing, during the whole process two questions are frequently asked. -Is this really a Oblure product? -Can or will everyone do this? Yes to first questions, and no for the second we will continue. The questions is not attached to each other. It can be no one will do this, ok lets give it a try. That’s a little bit of our mentality and curiosity.
We select five to seven concepts to continue with, and a contact is established with the creator of the concept. A rough estimation of production cost is made to estimate a final sales price, and if it is in a reasonable price range. The price will reflect the design, choice of material, innovation, complexity.
Now the frustrating parts begin, yet very fun part. Ha ha I love it. Markus takes a huge roll here to produce production compatible drawings, with input from me or another person within our external R&D team.
A second production cost is estimated. We are doing a lot in our workshop, from simple metal, wood, and plastic parts as well as full scale 3D printing which can be a whole product or some components. Then there is decision of material of the different parts in detail, lighting technique, colors etc.
After this time our main sub supplier provides us with a more accurate production price calculation, whom have been collected quotation from their and/or our own sub suppliers if necessary. Now we know if the costs are within the set limits. There is never a compromise for the quality to limit the production cost, the quality is always a priority such as the design.
During this period maybe we have produced one to three prototypes, and when all the elements are settled, we then produce a so called “zero series” production. This is to see what worked and not, quality improvements, efficiency improvements in the production line and an accurate production price are given.
During the whole process there is also one important element that goes back and forth. THE name of the product.
We always start the concept with the concept name given by the designer, but sometimes we change it to simpler name to make it easy to remember during the development process, it will be also easy to remember.
The development timeline is usually from 1 to 3 years from a sketch to a final product in production. Sometimes longer, as example for Markus first lamp for Oblure took 6 years.”
How does Oblure prioritize the balance between form and function in its products?
“Many tend to forget that most lighting products are not switched on all the time. I think it is very important that the products bring beauty to a spacy also when they are not turned on. We do not want to limit ourselves too much. Instead, we ask ourselves if a specific design lives up to our idea of being relevant, interesting, and having a strong character.
One of the most challenging things today, and I think this goes for many other businesses as well, is the massive amount of products on the market.
You really need be up to date and always see what’s new. Because of that I think it is very important to be relevant and to ask questions like, ‘Does this product add something? Is the design strong enough and is the level of innovation high enough?’.
Oblure aim to be a relevant brand and that means that the product must add something and have a certain level of innovation. In short, we are not a technical or functional lighting company. So, the design are always in focus, but yet in a functional way that adds something in the space with a strong character that intrigues the beholder, as a sculptural object when lit and when not turned on, light distribution. We also like to involve the end user to interact with the lighting object in a way that makes them a creator and can create unique form or a pattern. For an example to be interactive with our products, like Mondo, Trapeze and Stair table lamp.”
How does Oblure stay up-to-date with the latest design and technology trends in the lighting industry?
“I might have already answered a part of this questions in the previous answer. But Oblure will not be the company that chases trending objects for the moment or for a certain period. We do not either go for the trending colors. Of course, it gives us a guidelines but we are very clear that we have our own design philosophy and own path that we believe in and will follow.
The main strive regarding latest trends within lighting technologies is to make our life easier, ha ha. The innovation of technology is moving rapidly, which we think is a positive trend. The components get smaller and better, we are not limited for larger dimensions as before that needed to be compromised with the design shape. The requirements, directives and law changes are getting more restricted, which removes unserious actors in the business that can’t keep the high quality of lighting components, that I’m very happy for.”
If Oblure could collaborate with any artist, designer, or creative mind, who would it be and what kind of project would you work on together?
“Hmm, it's not an easy answer. We are friends with many designers and artist. I don´t wanna leave anyone out, the list can be long. But I have a few and Markus has his. I think we both have some names in common.
We recently made a wooden floor lamp design by FÄRG & BLANCHE that we are very proud of, the collaboration went flawless, and they are awesome couple and design duo. We would love to create more products with Fredrik and Emma Marge.
Sami Kallio, also a good friend who is a wooden designer maestro. We would be grateful if he will create a concept for us, not only for the concept but I really would like to work with him side by side in his wooden workshop. He is actually one of the few that make his prototypes in full scale in wood by handcraft. One other guy who also is from Gothenburg is Jonas Forsman, same city as us. We really like him because of his personality. He possesses great sense for design, very skilled in production techniques and lighting technology.
Johan Lindsten that made Arch pendant for us together with Markus as co-design. I hope we can work with him again. Christian Flindt a danish designer that I like. The artisan Manuel Bañó Granell which a admire all his work, a true artist and also Umut Yamac.
A dream scenario for us would be to work with Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola.”
Thank you for reading part one of our article series on Oblure. We hope you'll join us for part two and continue to explore the world of Oblure. With their passion for creativity and commitment to quality, this lightning brand is sure to leave a lasting impression on the design world for years to come.
