Elín Bríta

My summerjob at Lumex

This spring I was foreseeing a jobless summer, being poor but still trying to have the usual icelandic summer fun. This summer fun consists of traveling around Iceland, camping with friends, grilling and drinking beer every day in the sun!

Luckily my friend recommended me to take over his job this summer at a company called Lumex. They specialize in lighting design, sell a lot of amazing lamps and also design lighting for restaurants, companies and private homes.

I’ve learned so much in the past couple of months it’s crazy! I can’t wait to use this knowledge for my apartment to be! But me and my man are looking to buy a house, more on that later :)

The brands they carry are Flos, Luceplan, Panzeri, Foscarini, Tom Dixon, Herstal, Artemide, Modernica, Frandsen and Moooi.

Here are some of my favorites from the shop!

My dream lamp! Im going to own it by the end of summer!
Arco from Flos by Castigloni brothers
My dream lamp! Im going to own it by the end of summer!
Mayday from Flos by Konstantin Grcic
Beat lights by Tom Dixon
George Nelson bubble lamp from Modernica
Copper pendant by Tom Dixon

Hope from Luceplan

Twiggy from Foscarini

Mirror Balls by Tom Dixon
Random by Moooi and Shell chair from Modernica
Gregg outdoor lamp by Foscarini
Diabolo from Flos had been dicontinued! We have one here in the shop!
Mini Glo Ball from Flos - Perfect for the bathroom!

Samruni

For the last 11 weeks, me and my classmates have been doing a course in school. Each of us was assigned two companies to work with during those 11 weeks. For the first couple of weeks we went to visit these companies and get to know them better, the employees and their work methods. We did a lot of experiments with materials and in the end we presented a product. The product was not only a product, but more the process itself.

The companies I worked with were Málmsteypan Hella and Seglagerðin Ægir. Hella specializes in sand casting, both aluminium and copper, while Seglagerðin Ægir mostly work with industrial fabric like pvc and nylon and they do a lot of specialized sewing for clients. I did a lot of experiments with different fabrics from Seglagerðin, like yatch sailcloths and fire resistant fabrics. I developed a new technique to cast aluminum, but my aim was to try a different approach to sand casting. The technique gives different options to traditional sand casting; the mold is simply sewn together from a fire resistant material and consists of two parts. With this technique it’s easy to make almost any shape. After the mold has been sewn into a desirable shape it is dug in the sand and piping hot aluminum is poured into it. Both molds  are sprayed with graphite powder so the aluminium layer stuck to the fire resistant fabric does not stick to the melted aluminium. I used a “dipping” technique to flatten out the aluminum into a bowl like shape. The outcome, were differently shaped aluminium bowls that can be used as a base for a number of household items.

Elín Bríta - Aluminium and fabric


All of my classmates ended up with amazing results using various techniques. Each of us tried to develop something special and unique.

For the last two weeks of the course we had a graphic designer teaching us. In collaboration with him each of us made a brochure and as a group we designed an exhibition guide and the look of the exhibition itself.


Steinrún - Lazercutting and concrete
Theódóra - stone and concrete
Theódóra - stone and concrete
Hjörtur - Concrete and aluminium casting
Piret - Stone and steel
María - Fiberglass and fabric
Gudný - Fiberglass and steel
Eysteinn - Fiberglass and aluminium

Here are a few pictures from the opening

Back to school

Yes. School is back! It started in the end of august, so it has been super-busy times. I just finished a course called Tilraunahús or experiment house. We all had to pick a village anywhere in the world that we didn’t know much about. I opened a world atlas with eyes closed and pointed at Sakhalin, Russia’s largest island. I had no clue what I was getting into since I had never heard of this place before! Exciting!

The course was about doing all sorts of experiments with materials and ideas, working quickly and making your hands think, not your brain.

I found a really interesting tribe called Ainu, pay attention to the lip tattoo’s the women have. Amazing.

The final outcome was a seat that we had less then a week to make.

My seat is called Zola witch means Ash in russian. It’s made from Siberian larch, hand knotted stings and bamboo. The black wood is made this way with a special ancient Japanese method.

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