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Why It's Good:
From mid-century modern to industrial, there is an energy-saving pendant light for everyone in this collection. Launched in 2000 by Eric Kaster and Sattie Clark in Portland, Oregon, Eleek lighting suits a Mies van der Rohe-inspired space in Chicago just as well as The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Berlin.
Why It's Green:
Eighty percent of Eleek's supplies are gathered within fifty miles of their shop, which operates on green electricity from Pacific Power. Pewter, bronze, cast iron and aluminum remnants are recycled in casting whenever possible. Packaging and paper is made from 100% recycled stock, and Eleek will happily take back any products they produced to dismantle, reuse and/or recycle the materials. Eleek is also a member of the Oregon Natural Step Network, a group working to understand and improve its environmental footprint.
Haute, Hot Lighting
I was watching the movie Marathon Man recently. The scene where Dustin Hoffman gets his teeth pulled out by Laurence Olivier's ex-Nazi dentist is horrifying, to say the least. For some bizarre reason, I thought that the UFO pendant lamp by Eleek would make a particularly stylish statement in such a situation. Call it interrogation chic, but there's a new obsession with pendant lamps afoot—particularly with those of a stringent, edgy and oh-so-urbane aesthetic.
There's a fantastically futuristic feel to the pieces in the Eleek collection. The Trompeta (pictured on left, $335 to $475) has a cylinder design, and might be right for a groovy, modern mechanic's office. The Dollop (second from left, $380) would be lovely in a used-books store, where you could loiter for hours under its austere gleam. The Cirrus (top right, $1150) would look perfect perched above the bar in a divine restaurant like, say, Per Se. The Calliope (bottom right, $15,800) would look jazzy juxtaposed against organically sculpted tile in a Stella McCartney boutique. Each light I can easily see being a fixture in most neo-modern homes in 2023, avoiding, perhaps, any dungeons.—Allison Reynolds
