Prince of Wales Hotel by Meme Design

St Kilda’s Prince of Wales Hotel has been a Melbourne landmark since 1936, but its current status as a boutique hospitality destination was cemented only two decades ago with an interior transformation by Powell & Glenn Architects. We were excited to be part of this iconic hotel refurbishment in the late 1990s and we’re equally thrilled to have played a role in its latest redesign by working with the wonderful Megan Hounslow and Melanie Beynon from Meme Design.

Meme Design is a Melbourne-based architecture and interior design studio known for their authentic and timeless residential, commercial and hospitality projects. These include the Urban Attitude concept store at Highlight Melbourne, the NGVI Bookshop in the foyer space of the National Gallery of Victoria and Melbourne’s hospitality venue AERIAL. Meme’s redesign of the Prince of Wales is another example of their beautiful and innovative designs.

Our relationship with the Prince of Wales started back in the 1990s. Paul Hecker, of award-winning Melbourne design studio Hecker Guthrie, designed the Prince of Wales’ Circa restaurant late in the decade with architect Allan Powell and collaborated on the design of the hotel’s interiors and guest rooms that included custom wicker pendants by ISM Objects.

The hotel’s new interior by Meme Design shows great respect for the hotel’s original art deco architecture, which was also preserved by Powell & Glenn during the 1990s’ refurbishment. Meme oversaw the design upgrade the Circa bar and dining room in 2011 and its transformation has now extended to its guest rooms

The new design features a softer palette of alternating textures and hues, which reference the hotel’s beachside location. The furniture is a showcase of local and international designs from brands such as HR McCarthy, Jardan and Nood Co while the lighting is designed and handcrafted in Melbourne by our very proud ISM Objects team!

Meme selected our Luxe pendants and Shady floor lamps for the Prince of Wales guest rooms. The Luxe pendants are elegant tubes of polished brass that bring understated luxury to each room. They are available as a full voltage fitting with a G9 LED lamp or low voltage fitting with G4 LED lamp.

Our Shady floor lamps, designed by Daniel Barbera, come from a fun family of lights inspired by a classic spun aluminium shade. The floor lamp has a steel base with matching powder-coated shade – Meme selected a beautiful pale green hue to match the beachside inspiration of the interior.

As a brand passionate about local design, it’s so satisfying to be involved in the design of a local institution like the Prince of Wales Hotel. It has undergone two iconic transformations in the past two decades and we’re proud to have played a role in both of them.

GRAPHO BUBBLE - OUR LATEST INTERACTIVE DESIGN

We seek to create endearing and enduring products designed to bring a space to life, which has been integrated in our latest Grapho Bubble design that appears to have a wonderful life of its own.

Imbued with personality and character, our Grapho Bubble is skilfully handcrafted in our Mentone factory from beautiful Japanese rice paper, which provides the light with an interactive quality, making it an irreverent take on a classic paper ball light.

First launched at Melbourne’s DEN Fair 2017, the Grapho Bubble takes its name from the word meaning ‘to write’ or ‘to sketch’ as custom graphic designs can be added to the pendants during productions.

When illuminated, our Grapho Bubble comes to life in more ways than one. A small fan inside the Grapho Bubble pendant is connected to the sustainable LED light source and inflates the rice paper when switched on. The LED can also be dimmable (upon request) for a variety of ambient settings. The Grapho Bubble inflates in as little as 20 seconds from being switched on and when switched off, the fan stops turning the light and it gently deflates.

The Grapho Bubble is available in a diameter of 600mm and 1500mm.

We invite you to preview the Grapho Bubble’s interactive feature in the video below.

GX & DRUM PENDANTS - OUR ICONIC PENDANTS REIMAGINED

We are passionate in our pursuit to improve our new and existing products, which is why we are delighted to share with you our much loved and reimagined – GX and Drum Pendants.

Designed and made locally with beautiful new textile finishes and the latest energy efficient technology, these iconic pendants are perfect choices for residential and commercial spaces alike.

Our Gx Pendant features a lampshade of soft pleated fabric in a choice of elegant colours, including slate grey, sky blue, black or white, as well as customised colours from a new select palette – subject to suitability.

Available in two sizes, our Gx Pendant offers stainless wire with a clear cable or anodised aluminium rod that is adjustable on installation.

A renewed design has also been applied to our iconic Drum Pendant light, which is now fitted with the latest led technology to cast an ambient, energy efficient glow.

With beauty at the forefront of every design, our Drum pendant is available in a variety of finishes, including fabric and parchments from ISM Objects standard range, or, your choice of fabric or wallpaper.

UGG AT THE AIRPORT BY DOVETAIL DESIGN GROUP

UGG is brand with a distinctly Australian heritage and while its story started with a pair of cozy sheepskin boots back in 1978, the brand now has stores across the globe. One of its latest is located in the Melbourne International Airport was designed by Dovetail Design Group and features our Nudie Pendants!

Dovetail Design Group is a Sydney based interiors, graphic and signage design studio known for creating engaging retail and commercial spaces. Their vision for the new UGG kiosk was for a luxurious, yet unpretentious design using clean and simple lines softened by warm textural finishes. 

“We were engaged to create a retail kiosk with a premium look and feel to complement the high standard of retail spaces in Melbourne International Airport,” says Rose Gates, senior designer at Dovetail.

The store’s design is open and generous in space to provide flexibility in the arrangement of product categories and to allow customers to easily navigate through the various fixtures.

“Each fixture is custom designed and feature glass-fronted panels with internal LED lighting,” says Rose. “Solid timber display cubes are also strategically positioned in the main display cabinet, acting as a tool to highlight promotions and to feature some of UGG’s more select products on offer.”

The design also features integrated ‘lamp posts’, which function as a decorative design element and a device to express opulence.

“Key elements that make the design distinctive include the incorporation of premium finishes that balance welcoming, earthy tones against polished surfaces that are high-end and sophisticated,” says Rose. “Visual and tactile warmth is similarly achieved by contrasting textures, which are appealing to observe and even more desirable to touch. You will discover a combination of juxtapositions within the space including sandblasted wood on honed ceramic tiles to raw steel metal with soft leather upholstery.”

Our Nudie pendants provide another layer of appeal to the design. Crafted in Melbourne from powder-coated or brass-plated wire, their beautifully simple form is inspired by Japanese lanterns. 

Rose says our Nudie pendants are a glowing addition to the UGG store. “As well as providing a sense of luxury within the space, brass accents are an essential part of the overall design scheme,” she says. “The Nudie Pendant was an excellent fit due to its distinctive lightweight wire frame, allowing the sparkle of the light bulb to gleam through. We also like to support local Australian designers and suppliers wherever possible.”

We couldn’t agree more!

DISCOVER THE NUDIE COLLECTION HERE

SPOTLIGHT ON THE 'I CAN DO’ AND ‘CANS’ CEILING COLLECTIONS

‘I Can Do’ and ‘Cans’ collections of ceiling mounted designs cast a beautiful glow in any environment from the top down.

The I Can Do collection, designed exclusively by Keith Melbourne for ISM Objects, is a deceptively simple light with a distinctive architectural form. Crafted from extruded aluminium with a powder-coated finish in a choice of flat black or flat white, the lamp source is a dedicated LED panel with an integrated control gear and a choice of dimming protocol. 

The Cans collection features a classic cylindrical form that is also made from extruded aluminium. Available in two sizes and three heights and feature a powder-coated finish in a choice of flat black or flat white.

The lamp source can be a retrofit LED or a dedicated LED with high output and a choice of integrated dimming protocols. The design can also be custom ordered in other powder coat colours.

The I Can Do and Cans ceiling mounted lights play an essential role in creating the ideal ambience in any space and are two new classics from ISM Objects.

FAB 25 - THE ISM OBJECTS CLASSIC IS REBORN

We first designed the Fab Lamp in 1991 and now, twenty-six years later, we have revisited its iconic design to develop the Fab 25 - a lamp that is just as enduring as the original.

The original Fab lamp – a flat-pack self-assembled table lamp – was an immediate success. It won an ‘Artist & Industry’ award for design and production; retailed in the MoMA gift shop in New York; and Country Road commissioned an exclusive shade and stocked the lamp nationwide. It was designed to be easily transportable, appealing and suited to a new modern lifestyle.

Now, the Fab 25 lamp is even more so. Machined from aluminium and brass, with a perforated stainless steel mesh shade, it retains the elegant aesthetic, slimline shape and size and flat-pack gift box of the original lamp. But incorporating the latest technology – an LED lamp, cordless battery power and USB re-charging – the Fab 25 is now totally portable and even more modern and appealing.

A lot of research, testing and development has gone into the design and production of the new Fab 25 lamp, with each component has been selected and built into the lamp to ensure the technology is of the highest standard, but that it also fits with the original design and retains its classic Fab appeal.

The Fab lamp was the first light ISM Objects produced and it still speaks volumes about our design values of producing products that endure and endear.

To us there is nothing better than hearing stories from customers who, 25 years later, still love living with their Fab lamp. And we hope that the Fab 25 will appeal to those who love the original and a new generation who appreciate the freedom of a battery-powered lighting.

The new Fab 25 lamp is available NOW here

ISM OBJECTS LIGHT UP DENFAIR 2017

ISM Objects turned up the lights at this year’s Denfair with an inspiring showcase of new lighting, prototypes along with some fresh twists on some classic designs.

At last year’s Denfair, attendants were in awe of our inflatable prototype, Grapho Bubble when we showed it as a prototype. Since then we have been busily refining the design and this year we successfully presented the finished product. Made from Japanese rice paper, the Grapho Bubble appears to have a life of its own by inflating and deflating just like magic when turned on or off.

We also presented two new prototypes this year – the Teamwork pendant, which features innovative acoustic qualities that absorb sound, and the Snitch pendant, which is inspired by the iconic desktop gadget, Newton’s Cradle.

Some of our most celebrated designs also returned this year with new finishes and features. The Fab 25 table lamp presented with a finely perforated shade in stainless steel matte black and gold-plated finishes. The Loft, Luxe and Studio 6 designs also showcased in a new white powder-coated steel finish with satin nickel fittings. The cheeky Wink table lamp also returned with a portable, cordless design and a tropical pink finish – the perfect remedy for a Melbourne winter!

Stay tuned as we bring you more details of these new products in the coming weeks..

CIRCADIAN LIGHTING - DESIGNING LIGHTING TO ENHANCE OUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Do you have trouble getting to sleep after watching television or using your computer or smartphone at night? If you answered yes, it may be due to the exposure of blue-rich light from your screen. While blue light is helpful during the day, boosting awareness and attention, it can be detrimental to wellbeing at night, as it suppresses the secretion of melatonin, disrupting sleep and potentially causing an array of harmful effects.

But fear not. As lighting designers we’re well versed in photobiology (the scientific study of the interactions of light and living organisms) to create lighting products designed to work with our circadian rhythm (a.k.a. natural body clock) to enhance health and wellbeing.

The circadian system

The circadian system is a roughly 24-hour cycle that tells the body when to sleep and when to wake, as well as regulating other biological functions such as hunger, body temperature, blood pressure, growth and the release of melatonin and cortisol. When the circadian rhythm is in tune, the body’s cycle is optimised and stable, which helps maximise productivity and sleep quality. However, the circadian rhythm can easily be thrown out of whack and one of the primary reasons is light. Too much light at night and our sleep suffers; not enough light during the day and our productivity decreases.

Fortunately there is a growing body of research in photobiology so that our lighting products go far beyond aesthetics to actually enhance human health and function by mimicking natural daytime or night-time conditions. 

Circadian lighting

Daylight – or sunlight – is the benchmark that electric lighting needs to imitate to optimise circadian health and wellbeing. However, as the colour and intensity of sunlight changes throughout the day – from warm amber light at sunrise, to cool bright light during day, and back to amber light at sunset – electric lighting also needs to reproduce these changing colours and intensities to maximise human function.

In fact, circadian lighting – electric lighting based on the circadian rhythm – in the work environment has been proven to increase productivity, while in healthcare environments it has been found to help patients heal faster and boost the performance of medical staff.

How we create lighting that enhances health and wellbeing

At ISM Objects we use LED lights that are specifically engineered to facilitate a healthy circadian rhythm. Some bulbs, such as workplace lights, emit increased blue light wavelengths to promote greater energy and attentiveness. This technology is actually founded on the same principles NASA used to improve the sleep and performance of astronauts on the International Space Station.

Other technology sees colour-tunable LEDs that can deliver light in colour temperatures ranging from warm (yellowish) tones to cool (bluish) tones. This means that by changing the correlated colour temperature (CCT) light can be ‘tuned’ for different times of the day or night depending on the environment.

At ISM Objects we are committed to create lighting products that are not only good for the environment but also good for our bodies. By producing electric light that replicates the effect of natural light, we’re helping give our customers and their clients, employees, visitors, friends and family a better chance of sleeping better, working better and feeling better every day.

View our collection of LED lights here