Collaboration Zoë Mowat/Lambert & sons | between two islands

In the dark moments of the pandemic, designer Zoë Mowat, in New York, and the team at Lambert & fils, in Montreal, imagined lighting fixtures with an artistic purpose. The “Isle” collection, unveiled at the recent New York design festival, carries with it the strength and fragility of this suspended time.

Manhattan and Montreal share a lot in common, starting with their insular nature. The luminaires born from the collaboration between Zoë Mowat and Lambert & fils evoke the bridges through which it is accessed. A poetry that appeared at the end of the production which delighted their authors.

“It’s a moment charged with emotions, the result of two and a half years of hard work in a crisis situation”, immediately confided Samuel Lambert during the launch of the “Isle” collection in the gallery rented from the dawn of the pandemic, in Tribeca.

A long journey according to the constraints due to this particular period. After 13 years in Montreal, Zoë Mowat had just moved to New York to teach at the prestigious Parsons School of Design. Communication therefore took place mainly through Zoom. “With the masks, it was difficult to know what the team in Montreal liked,” she jokes, acknowledging the patience of her accomplices.

Basic principles

The first meeting between the designer and the founder of the famous Quebec brand took place in New York in 2012, during the design event that rocks the city every May. She presented a jewelry holder with accents of wood, brass, steel, glass and stone. “We found the premises of Zoë’s artistic language there: colors, shapes, geometry… She was a pioneer of the new wave of Quebec design where design was no longer just functional, but was akin to art,” says Samuel Lambert.

Since then, the young woman, originally from Edmonton, has created several objects with Canadian, Scandinavian, Portuguese and Japanese brands without ever departing from her artistic imprint to follow a trend or respond to the dictates of the furniture industry. The Lambert & fils studio has launched collaborations with local and international talents.

Sculptural lamp

The “Isle” pendant lights are distinguished by their alliance of strength and delicacy thanks to a glass tube and blocks of marble and aluminum like pedestals carrying precious light. “This collection is the result of a technical prowess offering great versatility: the luminaires can adopt different colors and be placed alone or deployed vertically or horizontally to form chandeliers”, explains Zoë Mowat.

Light, considered as a material in its own right, has been the subject of the greatest attention. Formed from a lined and frosted glass tube, the translucent line suspended in the air invites the sun’s rays to pass through it and brings diffuse lighting to the room that welcomes it. Six elements and three sizes have been developed to allow the luminaires to fit into any interior and lend themselves to artistic installations like mobiles. These will be offered in Quebec in September.