This suspension lamp was designed by Michele De Lucchi with Mario Rossi Scola in 1996. Made of Murano blown glass, it is available in a variety of finishes including trasparent, trasparent green, satin finished, glazed white, black, and silvered.

Michele De Lucchi was born in 1951 in Ferrara and graduated in architecture in Florence. He was one of the members of the Memphis Group, which debuted at the famous Salone del Mobile in Milan (1981). The group was named after the Bob Dylan song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again. Sometimes called the New International Style, the movement was a rebellion against the often slick and cold designs of the 70s in favor of work with more personality. In 1988, the group was dismantled.

De Lucchi was Director of Design at Olivetti from 1992 to 2002 and has developed experimental projects for Compaq Computers, Philips, Siemens and Vitra. His professional work has always gone side-by-side with a personal exploration of architecture, design, technology and crafts. In 1990 he set up Produzione Privata, a small-scale concern through which Michele De Lucchi, unsolicited by clients, designs products that are made using artisan techniques and crafts.

You can buy it here in a variety of finishes.

The Mercer lamp series was designed by Joan Gaspar and Javier M. Borras for Marset based in Spain. Available with either a black or beige internal shade, they are enclosed in glass. The table lamp comes in three sizes, ranging from 20.7 down to 9.8 inches tall. The suspended lamp has a diameter of 17.2 inches. Place in a room where it can catch highlights for a dressed up modern look. The Marset website lists this distributor for the United States.

This series of pendant lamps is the latest creation of Simon Karkov for Normann Copenhagen. The hanging lamp shades ship flat and are self-assembled, without glue, into lilly-inspired forms. The efficiency of Karkov’s design is amazing. Asked about his vision, he states, “I dream of developing new ways of designing furniture and larger objects through the self-assembly concept. This concept must be able to work on a larger scale and that thought fascinates me. Right now I am working on a collection of furniture, a draft for a boat and more self-assembly lamps – we’ll see if they get done.” The lamps come in three sizes and are available here from $48 to $97.

Elio Martinelli, founder of Martinelli Luce, designed this lamp in 1968. Swiveling it one way, it looks like a sphere with a lamp revealed in the removal of space. Positioning the light in the other direction, it loosely resembles a snake. Selling for around $900, you can find it here.

Lighting a room is one of the easiest way to transform it into something extraordinary. That said we found the Airswitch by Mathmos to me not only a great way to set the mood our space, but fun to play with as well. Rather than your standard on off switch, passing your hand over the top turns it on and off. This come from the same company that made your groovy uncle’s lava lamp, but we prefer Airswitch’s more modern design.

  The Phantom table lamps stout proportions are offset by the lightness of material. Also available with white shade, and for only $99 from CB2