[Advertisement – Nuura covered the cost of my hotel stay during 3 Days of Design, but I paid all other expenses myself and wasn’t obligated to provide any coverage in return.]
I’ve been an admirer of Danish lighting brand Nuura ever since it made its debut at the Stockholm Furniture Fair back in 2018. It was founded by designer Sofie Refer and business partners Nadia Lassen and Peter Østerberg, with the aim of creating elegant, timeless and versatile lighting that embodies various aspects of Nordic nature.
The initial five collections were the work of Sofie herself, but Nuura has since branched out to collaborate with various other designers, resulting in an ever-growing yet carefully considered range of ceiling, wall, floor and table lamps that perfectly balance form and function.
I have several Nuura pieces in my own home, and I got to test out more during my stay at Copenhagen’s Hotel Sct Thomas during 3 Days of Design. The festival also gave me the chance to visit Nuura’s stunning showroom (shown in the images here), where Sofie presented several new launches and gave some fascinating talks. While there, I caught up with her to find out more about the brand, the inspiration behind it, and the transformative power of lighting over our mood and wellbeing.
Hi Sofie! First of all, how did Nuura begin life? What was the driving force behind the brand?
“We believed that we could create a lighting brand that would bring value to the industry and to interior-design schemes. Light is essential for our existence, and artificial lighting can compensate for missing daylight – but today’s science shows that the quality and design of the light source is crucial. We wanted to take our cue from nature, and create designs that celebrate the beauty and importance of light. In fact Nuura is a word of Nordic origin that means ‘light’ and ‘honour’.”
How would you describe Nuura and its ethos? What makes it different from other lighting
brands?
“Lighting is important in any interior situation, and it has a big impact on our wellbeing and health. It’s also vital for functional reasons, and it’s a powerful tool for creating atmosphere and ambiance. We actually believe that lighting can promote joy, and that’s what we strive for – to combine aesthetically pleasing design with quality light sources in a way that brings joy.
“Another aspect that differentiates us from others is that we always work in collections, and always with a chandelier at the centre. That’s our signature, and the other elements of each collection – the table lamp, the floor lamp, the pendant, the wall lamp – all unfold around the chandelier.”
Above: chandeliers, pendants and wall lamps from two of the original five Nuura collections, ‘Miira’ and ‘Liila’. They combine rounded bodies in various metal finishes with spherical shades, with a choice between opal glass or an optic design that casts beautiful patterns over the surrounding surfaces.
What inspires your designs?
“I’m primarily inspired by nature – its joy, abundance and generosity. In a way you can compare a chandelier to a bouquet of flowers – they have the same expression and energy. Like nature, I try to balance simplicity and sensuousness, and the organic shapes and colours I use all come from nature.
“I also find that the combination of variation and repetition in nature is beautiful and interesting to study, and I try to reflect this in my designs. That’s why we create collections of lighting – each piece in a collection has its own characteristics and function, but they’re linked by a repetitive thread that brings harmony.”
What does the design process look like for you?
“At first, when I have a new idea, I hand-sketch. The sketching is the most important phase, as it’s a great way to test and develop the idea. Then, based on the sketches, we create 3D drawings and prints. And finally, we do lighting tests and make prototypes, refining as we go.”
Above: a new Nuura collection, ‘Florii’, which was unveiled during 3 Days of Design. Created by Danish artist and designer Jessica Vedel, it was inspired by the curved shapes of the falling leaves she encountered on a woodland walk. The shades were folded in paper before being reinterpreted in powder-coated metal and sit on branch-like bronze bars.
What do you think makes a good lighting scheme?
“It’s important to make sure you have different types of light to support the various scenarios you have throughout the day. You’ll need focused task light as well as diffused light, and you need to consider the quality of the light. The latest science tells us that we need much more light to support our health and wellbeing than we thought, with a higher number of lumens to match natural daylight. You also need to be able to adjust the light to support the circadian rhythm. In the evening it’s important to dim the lighting and ensure the colour temperature (measured in kelvins) is warm, to encourage the body to wind down and move towards sleep.”
Above: the showroom’s beautiful central room displays two Nuura collaborations – the sleek aluminium ‘Sasi’ wall lamps by Netherlands-based Rick Tegelaar and the ‘Petalii’ collection by Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc. The latter reinterprets a universal botanical form in a contemporary way, with flower-like powder-coated metal shades sitting on graceful brass ‘stems’.
You mentioned shadow a lot during your talks at 3 Days of Design. Is this an important
factor in Nuura’s collections?
“It is. In nature you find a variation between shadow and light, as the natural light is reflected by different surfaces such as water or filtered through bushes and trees. It’s been found to have a positive impact on our biology, so I want to introduce this aspect of nature into our indoor environments.”
Above: another of Nuura’s original 2018 launch collections, ‘Anoli’, which features golden glass shades inspired by raindrops and has since expanded to encompass ceiling, wall and pendant spotlights in white and black. Also shown are abstract sculptures by artist Katrine Blinkenberg, who I interviewed last year and whose works are dotted around the showroom.
Do you have any personal favourites from the Nuura collections?
“Each of my designs has qualities that appeal. I like the indirect golden light of the ‘Blossi’ collection, the modularity of the ‘Liila’ chandelier, the rich and rounded shapes of the ‘Miira’ collection, and the simplicity of the flower-like ‘Apiales’ chandelier. I can’t say that I favour one more than the others.”
Above: Sofie’s ‘Blossi’ collection, which is available in brass and black. Its original glass-domed chandeliers, pendants, table and floor lamps have now been joined by a rechargeable portable lamp with a durable acrylic shade that can be used indoors and out.
Finally, what’s next for Nuura? Are there any exciting plans or new collaborations on the horizon?
“We have more new collections to be launched and we’re working on new projects, including
lighting collaborations with other designers.
“Light-source manufacturing is advancing rapidly at the moment, and this gives us opportunities to create products with an even higher light quality – it’s all very exciting. Sustainability is also a high priority. It’s a huge investment and there’s much to learn, but it’s very satisfying when you make actual improvements.”
Thanks Sofie!
Above: the view of Copenhagen’s Marmorkirken (‘Marble Church’) from the Nuura showroom, a display of the brand’s various glass finishes, and another of Katrine Blinkenberg’s wonderful sculptures in one of the windows.
See Nuura’s full collections and browse its webshop here.
Images two, eight, 11-15, 27, 29 and 30 courtesy of Nuura; all other photography by Abi Dare
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