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DESIGN|SPOTLIGHT

W

ith Pop-Up, Marie-Lise

Fé ry takes us on journey

through a fantastic

world full of references.

For her third collection,

the Lyon-based de-

signer is diving into the hedonism of the 1970s.

Her view of the period is both ironic and

vivacious, off ering a subtle, yet show y per-

spective: are these eye-shaped lamps looking

at us? Is the refl ective surface of

the glass really a distorting mirror showing

us the narcissism of the time? With the slender

and elegant lines calling attention to every

little detail, Marie-Lise Fé ry creates contem-

porary designs with the trademark “retro-

for-tomorrow” approach, which has earned

Magic Circus É ditions its name in the lighting

industry since its foundation in 2015.

The Pop-Up pieces consist of between one

and three domes of lacquered brass (in pis-

tachio, pink, light blue, dark blue and lemon),

each attached to a brass stem (gold or slate-

coloured), highlighting the delicate shape

of the mouth-blown glass. Floor lamps and

table lamps stand on a Carrara marble base.

Finishes include a hallmark stamped on each

Circus Editions lamps question the change-

able status of objects – between function and

aesthetic, balance and lightness, drama and

reverie.

Magic Circus É ditions founder Marie-Lise

Fé ry was born in Paris. After studying

art business, she moved to New Yorko.

Fascinated by the city’s architecture, she

found an endless source of inspiration in the

Big Apple’s monumental dé cors. Return-

ing to France, based herself in Lyon, where

she opened an antiques gallery named Un

Châ teau en Espagne, and started telling her

own stories through objects she gleaned

here and there. A way for her to perpetuate

her mother’s motto: “Objects with a soul will

always fi nd their place”. Since 2015,

the year she established Magic Circus

É ditions, she has moved on to lighting as a

means of telling her stories, bringing the

magic of the show into home interiors. With

her love for the theatre, the circus, turn-of-

the-century cabarets and music halls, Marie-

Lise Fé ry imagines each new original creation

as a way to stage her vision. In the manner

of Wes Anderson in Grand Budapest Hotel,

blending together elegance, humour and

unexpected details, her designs never fail

to surprise. Like magic lanterns – precur-

sors to modern-day cinema –, Marie- Lise

Fé ry creates a succession of illusions, with

immense, lightweight compositions conjur-

ing silent references. Attentive to the look

of her pieces both in daylight and at night,

Marie-Lise Fé ry takes us on a journey through

space (from outside to inside) and time (from

yesterday to today).

In the manner of Wes

Anderson’s Grand Budapest

Hotel, she blends together

elegance, humour and

unexpected details

piece to identify it. Like jewellery, each hand-

crafted item tells the story of the very best

European artisans who shaped it. The fi ne

glass craftsmanship, paired with brass, reso-

nates with earlier creations by Magic Circus

É ditions.

Drawing on the heritage of urban land-

scapes, shifting our perspectives by playing

on scale and use, using lighting to tell stories,

Magic Circus É ditions creates beautifully

hand-crafted pieces from weightless and

playful designs, off ering an alternative per-

spective on everyday objects and inventing

21st-century vintage. Each collection draws

from a singular inspiration: early street lights

for Collection 01, the Far East for Collection

02 and the glossy polychrome allure of the

70s for her latest collection: Pop-Up. Magic

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