Incollect Magazine - Issue 13

Incollect Magazine 89 Carl Fagerlund was a Swedish designer who joined the Orrefors Glassworks in 1946 and went on to become one of the firm’s most celebrated lighting designers, though he also worked for other firms and designed a range of glassware. His designs are minimalist, often with patterned and textured glass, which he put to great effect in wonderfully sculptural lamps, pendants, and sconces that continue to be prized by designers and collectors today. “What makes Fagerlund’s lamps so coveted by today’s leading designers is more than their Scandinavian pedigree— it is their ability to both anchor and uplift a room,” says Val Nikitin from VN Vintage & Modern. “Rich in history and minimal in their form, they become the quiet protagonists in any design narrative— vessels for both nostalgia and modernity.” Among his most popular designs is a round drum ceiling pendant light created with a semicircular element of vertical tightly ribbed crystal. “These pendant lights, though born in the 1960s, slip seamlessly into today’s contemporary interiors,” Nikitin says. “It’s a testament to the timelessness woven through Fagerlund’s vision.” Nikitin’s collection also includes a 1960s clear textured glass and brass domed ceiling chandelier for Orrefors, sculpted from a pressed, textured glass bowl. “It remains as fashionable today as the day it emerged from Orrefors kilns,” he says. “Its simplicity belies its many practical uses and versatility: it can be used as a pendant, double pendant, brass-topped pendant, or even flush mount. The form is pure, almost elemental, its clarity coming not from ornament but from the glass itself, crafted with a finesse that makes each piece gleam like a jewel,” Nikitin explains. Carl Fagerlund for Orrefors A vintage chandelier by Carl Fagerlund for Orrefors, Sweden, circa 1960. Courtesy VN Vintage & Modern. Drum ceiling pendant by Carl Fagerlund for Orrefors. Courtesy VN Vintage & Modern.