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Bec Brittain’s Vise Light

Brooklyn-based designer Bec Brittain is known for her stop-you-in-your-tracks lighting, often combining brass and glass into playful, geometric shapes. The latest addition to the ever-growing collection is the Vise light, which joins a hand-blown, double-fade glass globe that mimics a sunset and situates it within a brass, claw-like structure. The fixture, named after Vise-Grip pliers, with its streamlined, open-volume shape, falls right in line with her expanding portfolio of sculptural lights. For this month’s Deconstruction, we take a look at how the Vise is made.

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The Vise Light is a new fixture that expands on the geometric language of the brand’s prior work with color and new materials. These are some of the first sketches, where some of the most important issues are initially worked out.

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Above is the first mock up of this piece. Three-dimensional exploration is often one of the first steps in the studio.

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As production begins, glass is the first finalized component. Pictured is Michiko Sakano during the first round of experimentation.

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The brass parts are machined locally in New York.

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Adjustments are made by someone from the design team.

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The parts are fitted to ensure a clean assembly.

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After plating, assembly begins.

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Bec wires the delicate fixture.

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The designer and the finished product, the Vise Light!

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.