IRIS DESIGN STUDIO GO GREEN WITH NEW LED TECHNOLOGY.

Iris Design Studio Ltd, a cutting edge lighting manufacturer, is now green thanks to new LED technology. The company, which produces high end light fixtures and furniture designed by Iris Kadouri is  young and innovative and thus was seeking for greener solutions in terms of recyclability and light output.

“We are a boutique-size manufacturer, creating high-end lighting ensembles, all of which are made in small batches, thus we do not use the polluting heavy machinery to produce our metal and glass in the first place”, says Iris. And indeed, all of Iris’s products are made with easily recyclable steel or alloy bases. The glass fronts and lamp shades are hand made by craftsmen who initially helped Iris develop her products and are now her business associates. Non of Iris’s products is made in China, as tempting as it is for a manufacturer. “In the beginning, when I just started the company almost five years ago, it was all about principles. I was young, and even though people thought I was mad to produce in my native Israel I insisted. Most, if not all lighting producers bring their metal bases and wired parts from China, the large companies manufacture their glass their as well. This was happening all over the world and was already a fact when I started”, says Iris. But she insisted on staying small, despite the opportunities that came her way in reducing the manufacturing costs.

“Glass and metal are easily recyclable, as they are natural materials, not polymers. Going green, with the La Paz and Perito Moreno lines it was easy. My Olinda design has Acrylic screws and front, but the image can be re-printed and replaced thus the entire product can be re-used in various ways”.

The next challenge for Iris was to use green light. The Iguazu Neon System and the Olinda use the T-9 fluorescent tube, already environmentally friendly as they are energy efficient. The San Pedro De Atacama series has an E27 base thus it can use an energy saving bulb and because it was originally designed to provide a light bulb halo to the Edison bulb, it can now appear as an Edison Halo for the energy saving bulbs, allowing us the memory of a familiar everyday object, soon is to be banded from the EU.

Iris was left with the Perito Moreno and the La Paz designs, both use the G4 20W Halogen capsule. “As a small manufacturer, my thoughts are always about efficiency. I already invested huge sums in developing my product line, and as I insist on local production, my margins are lower. I wanted to have a G-4 replacement option for the halogen without re-designing the entire electrical box, and without purchasing new ballasts. My initial thoughts, when I opened my company, was to create maximum products with minimum inventory, and I intend to keep it that way”.

Iris was faced with a challenge. Most LED’s require specific ballasts and, on top of that, do not supply enough light. The search began and Iris contacted several LED suppliers to help her with her quest. “Hi-Tech start-ups all over the world are developing LED technologies with the same goals as mine. I eventually found one that produced a G-4 base LED with a 5W, 12V power. With my advise, they created a warm white option, 3100K and a total of 22.14 luminous intensity. Another option, less recommended is the super white, 7000-9000K with 27.68 luminous intensity. The latter has a stronger glare”.

The real innovation here is the fact that these LED’s do not require an entire product adjustment, you simply replace the existing 20W Halogens with them. “With the Perito Moreno these are just great, as their spread of light is spherical and equal. With the La Paz we still need to make minor adjustments in the lampshade, because of the LED shape, but this is nothing too complex” says iris proudly.  

Today LED technology is the hottest phrase in the lighting industry. It is only a matter of time until these replace our familiar bulbs. Iris’s designs of La Paz and Perito Moreno use glass blown lampshades that look like the standard Edison bulb, with the light coming out of a different location than the screw base. These were originally designed to create a wonder and to intrigue the viewer to question where the light is coming from. With the new LED’s, the Perito Moreno and La Paz products are now upgraded, as the Edison bulb is soon to be illegal, it seems that Iris re-invented the bulb, by giving it a new meaning, a better technology and of course, a cutting edge design.