I’ve long been a fan of industrial style design and would move into a loft apartment with high ceilings, black steel-framed windows and industrial lighting in a heartbeat if they existed in Durban. So when Storm from The Coote & Wench Design Company contacted me with some pics of the bespoke industrial style lighting they design, my heart skipped a beat and those pangs returned renewed.
Storm and Philip Coote are a husband and wife team who collaborate with other designers, artists and decorators, including Studio No. 19, to bring their creative ideas to life in their home-based workshop.
First though – how cool is their name – Coote & Wench!?
‘Coote’ being their surname and Storm being the self-professed ‘Wench’ in the equation. I think it sounds totally rockstar and their lighting solutions match this vibe perfectly, with materials and items for their lighting sourced on various junking excursions.
Along with making stuff for other designers, Coote & Wench design their own range of bespoke one-off antique tripod lights, which they started creating in 2014, after creating Light No.1 for their own home.
They now sell one-off floor, wall and table lights made from locally sourced, up-cycled materials, making each piece a fully functioning light, as well as a beautiful addition to any interior.
The team strongly believe in up-cycling and breathing new life into the old and forgotten, even taking special care to make sure each light is accompanied with the story of how it came to be. They try to include details of where each of the pieces was sourced and what they started out as, so the person receiving the light knows its origins and its journey to becoming a Coote & Wench original.
The pieces are proudly South African and no two are alike, with the team carefully considering everything from the tripod to the wiring and accessories, infusing each with authenticity and heaps of personality.
In Storm’s own words, “We create illuminating art, by breathing new life into the old and forgotten.”
If you’re looking for a unique piece of lighting, where the process of creation is as important as the end result, contact the Coote & Wench team to see the lights they currently have available, or commission them for your next project. And make sure to have a squizz at their website, which showcases some of their lights, as well as industrial mirrors, antique art prints and laboratory glassware – I’m totally smitten!
Coote & Wench will be at the Pretoria Homemaker’s fair this weekend, 6-9 October 2016.
Contact:
Storm Coote +27 (0) 83 4506966 or storm@cooteandwench.co.za
Philip Coote +27 (0) 83 2803134 or philip@cooteandwench.co.za
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As seen in Elle Décor, Visi Magazine, Garden and Home
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