I have known Roberto for many years in Hong Kong and he originally hails from the beautiful lake of Como in Italy. His wife, Manuela, works for a very prominent fashion industry group and was fascinated by Omino collection. Roberto also used to work in the same industry, and both have a deep fondness of Italian classic cars of the 60’s era. I personally am a big fan of Automonbili Alfa Romeo and decided to adapt a special finish of the famed Alfa Romeo Red in a high gloss lacquer finish inspired by traditional Asian pottery. The paint works must be applied very slowly and cured for 4 days in order to achieve the desired reflective effect. When I showed them my Omino creation, as perhaps by the fate of chance, it was nearly the same tone of red as their new-born’s baby chair. Ironically it matches so well with their interior that seems to be predetermined by a higher calling. I always believe the best plan in life is not the over plan at all. I sincerely hope this passionate red is to their liking and Omino can become part of their family for many years to come, anywhere they wish to reside on the globe.
SUGO founding members, Kevin and Giulia, wanted to ask themselves what a lamp design can actually be. When is a lamp not just a lamp, but also a sculpture? Could it have some family features to it? Can it evoke motion and emotion when it is inanimate? These questions lit up a light bulb in their heads and the OMINO lamp was born. The design is a symbolisation of everyday human activities in any given situation. The lamp sculptures are made simply by bending tubular steel into shapes that depict symbolic movements of the human body. An opaque glass sphere emitting an LED light represents both the human head and mind. OMINO questions the traditional representation of lighting as simply an object for illumination and fuses humanoid figures into a dynamic design. The initial collection consists of six ‘buddies’ or ‘family members’. When the OMINO lamp is placed inside a space, you and the designs become occupiers of the same space and the humanoid sculptural forms become more than just lamps.