The Dome collection from Ted Bradley Studio is a well-conceived series that offers a fresh take on the classic, decades-old, familiar dome-shaped lighting fixture.
Studio founder and designer Ted Bradley devised brand-new ceramic forming equipment in order to bring his Dome collection to life. Perfected over nine months, the new equipment was influenced by traditional “jigger-jolly” wheel throwing; using a pivoting arm to shape the clay on a spinning wheel, the technique can produce porcelain domes up to 66 centimetres in diameter.
Made from porcelain, the individual shades are available in a wide range of special glazes that Bradley and his team created after testing more than 100 recipes and thousands of “test tiles.” The resulting finishes are grouped in two palettes: The Porcelain Finishes include 21 colours that range from Lavender Matte, Dusty Rose and Royal Plum Gloss to deeper hues like Emerald Green Gloss, Metallic Pewter, Black Gloss and more; the six Metal Finishes vary from Satin Brass, Antique Brass, Darkened Bronze, Satin Nickel, Charcoal Nickel and Blackened Brass.
The entirety of the Dome collection from Ted Bradley Studio includes 60 sculptural designs that can be used to build Alexander Calder-inspired mobiles (specifically his Red Lily Pads (1956) at the Guggenheim in New York), nature-inspired and swag-style pendants, linear and asymmetrical chandeliers and expansive wall sculptures. The lighting is grouped into differently named series, which include:
Straight pendants are a refined and simple linear fixture that focuses illumination, an ideal choice for dining areas, kitchen islands and bedside tables.
The Alexander Calder-inspired Mobile series is a serious study of balance and movement, with each individual dome precisely weighted to counterbalance within the sculptural arrangement. The mobiles are free of any rigid connections so that each arm can easily pivot, allowing for an infinite number of “fleeting” arrangements that create dynamic interactions with the environment. The Mobiles are custom-designed for size and expansiveness.
On a personal note, the Lillian Series drew inspiration from the tree canopies in a Brazilian rainforest that two friends of Bradley’s saved from deforestation – Bradley captured the beauty and resiliency of the rainforest in sculptural porcelain as a tribute to his friends.
Also in the Dome collection from Ted Bradley Studio, the Rhythm series arranges the domes in a staggered, flowing formation that nods to musical notes on a sheet; and the Swag Pendants, which feature draped cords of finely braided brass that add fluidity to the sculpture and can be used to create installations of up to 3.6-metres (fed from a single electrical connection).
Meanwhile, the Constellation series visually evokes stars in the night sky, and the Armature series suspends the porcelain domes from a metal framework in different directions.
Lastly, the Dome collection from Ted Bradley Studio includes sconces in four sizes that can be installed as singular light sources or be connected in groups of up to five with braided brass cords connecting them; ceiling flush-mounts that can be used alongside or in groupings are also available.
