The Beaufort lighting collection by Hollis+Morris was inspired by a discussion during a flight over the Atlantic, where founder and lead designer Mischa Couvrette contemplated ice and climate change. This conversation led him to explore themes of ice depth, transparency, and formation.
Couvrette expressed a long-standing fascination with the beauty of ice above water, noting the intricate gradients and the hidden world beneath its surface. This inspiration guided the design of a light fixture that embodies a sense of concealed depth and quiet mystery.
The collection does not represent ice literally but rather reflects its essence through material and light. Each fixture starts with solid oak or walnut, shaped into a half-cylinder with rounded ends. The wood is carved internally to conceal lighting technology while creating a chamber that controls light emission.
Incorporating sandblasted acrylic enhances the design, where stepped shoulders and faceted surfaces interact with the carved wood. This relationship creates subtle shifts in depth, even when the fixture is off. Once illuminated, the acrylic allows light to pass through in soft gradients, mimicking the changing density of ice.
The collection’s framework relies on the interplay between wood and acrylic, allowing Hollis+Morris to alter silhouettes and light distribution. The Beaufort Sconce exemplifies the collection’s simplest form. The M2 Horizontal Pendant features two mirrored components that direct light upward and downward, available in lengths ranging from 13 to 60 inches.
The R5 Horizontal Pendant further utilizes repetition, with five elements forming a circular design that can be hung horizontally or rotated vertically into a lantern shape. In addition, the same arrangement adapts into a Beaufort Table Lamp when placed on a surface.
Throughout the collection, the orientation and scale shift while retaining the core material tension, reflecting the constantly reshaping nature of ice formations in relation to time and light.
