Olivier Abry, Wo & Wé lighting designer
Olivier Abry, the Lyon based industrial lighting designer has a clear objective for his work – to create simple, graphic and timeless lighting. He also uses these maxims when selecting décor for his home and studio. ‘I patiently collect furniture, art, and objects, avoiding the ‘total’ look. The idea in my apartment (a former cinema) as well as my workshop, is to mix art and design so they complement each other – objects, furniture, and lighting with ageless shapes to enhance the art and vice versa. I hope I have managed to make my home welcoming and arty at the same time’.
‘J’ean Prouvé’s work is an unfailing source of inspiration’ he says. ‘I’m also inspired by Charlotte Perriand and Serge Mouille. I like a lot of very different lighting designers: from Will Rietvelt to Pierre Guariche, from vintage O.C. White to Achille Castiglioni and from Isamu Noguchi to Joe Colombo’.
Abry spent 25 years working at a furniture store before deciding to fully embrace his interest in lighting assembly and design. At first, he began restoring old lamps found at the nearby Canal Flea Market for himself and later began selling via his blog. ‘I started to get interested in the whole mechanic process: how the lamp is supposed to rotate, how it goes up and down and found the most interesting (in my opinion) system with American lighting by O.C. White. As time went on, I tried to build lamps of my own and eventually moved from the garage to a workshop.’
The self-taught designer launched Wo & Wé in 2010 and is now working on a contemporary lighting collection.
Credits: Wo & Wé and The Spaces
