There are good lighting brands wherever you look in the world, but do you know the talent we have here in the UK? Whether they're designed here, or designed and manufactured both in the UK, British lighting brands are a varied bunch. They're using materials as different as glass and marble, as rattan and wood, in styles that range from Art Deco to super modern. But what they all have in common is a commitment to detail and innovation that leads to a dazzling array of designs.
As a design editor, I've been writing about British design for over 20 years, regularly visiting showrooms, talking to designers, and getting to know their products. These 11 are the ones I've pulled out for where to buy lighting that is a shining example of UK creativity at its best, a directory — in no order other than alphabetical — of inspirational lightbulb moments.
1. Bert Frank
At the last Decorex show I went to, where brands showcase their latest products for press and the design industry, Bert Frank's stand was decked out like a gentleman's club, all dark ceilings and smart edges.
Its lighting lends itself perfectly to this aesthetic. The brand's design touchpoints range from mid-century to industrial to Art Deco interior design, but always luxe and sophisticated, and always feeding this glamorously atmospheric vibe.
Bert Frank's designs are made exclusively in the UK, too, by expert craftspeople based in Birmingham, using processes combining traditional manufacturing methods with cutting-edge technology and the highest-quality materials.
And, if you can't find exactly what you want, Bert Frank has a bespoke service, allowing for unique customisation of designs.
Showroom: The brand's flagship showroom is near Clerkenwell's design district in London. 67 Farringdon Rd, London EC1M 3JB.
CTO Lighting
I've been visiting the CTO Lighting showroom regularly since it opened in Islington, London, in 2016, and am always struck by what a well curated space it is. The brand pairs sprawling ceiling lights, with much smaller,(but no less impressive) wall and table lights. Go for the showstopping chandeliers, stay for the gentle sophistication of wall lights like the Lucid and its alabaster dome-shaped case.
CTO is thoughtfully manufactured in the UK, trying to bring as many of its processes and sustainable materials to the point of a circular economy. Its repair and refurbishment programme is one such example, extending the lifespan of its products indefinitely.
Showroom: Find near Islington, one of our favourite spots to shop designer interiors brands. 9 Cloudesley Road, London, N1 0FH.
Där Lighting
While many of the British lighting brands featured on this list command a higher pricepoint, there are some design houses making affordable lighting for the UK market, too — and Där Lighting is one of the best of them.
There is a real mix of styles here, from traditional Tiffany lamps to Scandi-style glass table lamps, above, in smoked amber glass. Predictably, I'm more interested in the modern pieces dreamed up by its UK design team, with prices that start from about £35 and yet look at least ten times the prices. The onyx and marble finishes are particularly strong.
It's a British lighting brand that's pretty well-stocked, too, so you won't find it too difficult to get ahold of — even John Lewis & Partners stock them. You can buy direct from its website, too but they don't have a dedicated showroom for the brand, as such.
J.Adams&Co
This British lighting brand won a Livingetc Style Award last year for the Tor, a prism-shaped outdoor light that may be small but is so refined. In fact, refinement is a good word to describe all of J.Adams&Co's offering, with pieces that are just at home above a very smart desk or a very relaxed dining table. It's where Art Deco meets modern style.
The brand manufactures in the UK using traditional techniques and modern technology, with its workshop based in Birmingham's Industrial Quarter. Through the materials and construction, as well as the style, its aim is an enduring timelessness for its designs. J.Adams&Co, too, is able to take on those bespoke projects, if you (or your client) have deep enough pockets.
Showroom: J.Adams&Co's showroom is located in the Clerkenwell Design District. 116-118 St John Street, Clerkenwell, EC1V 4JW.
Julian Chichester
I look forward to my Julian Chichester showroom visits the most, often strolling around the London one and making time to see the New York space when I'm in town. There is a real emphasis on craftsmanship here, with prototypes honed over time, often worked on for years before they meet Julian's seal of approval.
The result is pieces that have personality, that are sometimes understated but never under-designed, always with the finest attention to detail. Often, the brand aesthetic leans towards the artistic, meaning that the lights tend to have a lot of character. A truly British institution.
Showroom: Find Julian Chichester's lighting and furniture showroom at London's Chelsea Harbour Design Centre. Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, SW10 0XE, London.
Lee Broom
British designer Lee Broom launched what is now a global product design brand in 2007, and swiftly made his name with lighting (though his furniture and accessories are just as impressive). His first viral design was the Decanterlight, repurposing crystal decanters into beguiling light shades, and bought up in vast numbers by places like the Selfridges department store to hang alongside its central escalator.
Then came pieces like the Orion, the Carousel and now the Solstice, above, launched earlier this year as part of his Alchemist collection. Each one tells a story, is both of its time and enduring, setting the trends for big or small or gilt or gunmetal, and never going out of style. He is a master I've interviewed many times, and who has shaped the way we light our homes.
Showroom: Lee Broom's London showroom is like visiting an art installation. 95 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3AY.
Lights&Lamps
Full disclosure, on behalf of Livingetc I actually designed a capsule collection of lighting for Lights&Lamps three years ago, so yes, I know the brand well. But we only aligned our name with theirs because we knew what good quality its products are, how smart they look, defying their very keen and affordable price point.
The brand plays with expensive-looking marble, uses rattan to create scalloped shapes and is fast becoming a place designers are using when they want homes to look elegant but their budget is running out. It should be a first port of call for us all.
Novocastrian
The Insulator collection might be the inaugural lighting range from North East-based British lighting brand Novocastrian, but it's enough to earn it a spot on our list. Inspired by founder Richy Almond's train journeys on the East Coast mainline, it marries the industrial nature of its namesake, the insulators you see hanging above British railways, and a more glamorous Art Deco inspiration.
Each piece is made in the North East, only miles away from where the British railway began, from precision cut brass and pressed glass. The finest of materials, with the humblest of origins.
Original BTC
The phrase 'heritage British brand' should have been invented for Original BTC. It may have only been founded in 1990 but it feels like a longstanding part of our design landscape, taking the best of handmade UK craft and developing twists on the classic utilitarian vibe the last century was known for.
Most products are made, at least partly, from bone china, in factories that have produced it for decades. But that's not to say Original BTC doesn't push boundaries, and the Pebble pendant, above, shows how the British lighting brand manages to take from techniques from the past and update them for right now.
Made between a glassworks and metalworks in Birmingham, and a bone china factory in Stoke-on-Trent, you're getting great British design made in the best places for it.
Showroom: As well as being widely stocked, Original BTC has a showroom at London's Design Centre. 228 Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London, SW10 0XE.
Pooky
You may know Pooky for its joyful collection of brightly colored lamp shades, but it is also a go-to for lighting for stylists and designers, too. I decked out my home with more Pooky than any other brand, curating the Art Deco glamour of the Roddy wall lights next to the functional charm of the angled task lamps.
I think it'd be fair to say that Pooky has pioneered portable table lamps and no-wire wall lights in the UK market, especially those made from luxurious materials and great-looking designs.
Its showroom, near Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, is the best way to browse if you want to get hands-on, but you can't technically shop from there. The lighting is sold solely through its website.
Showroom: Unit 9, The Furniture & Arts Building, 533 Kings Road, London, SW10 0TZ for London, however, there are also Pooky showrooms in Gloucestershire, and at Redbrick, near Leeds.
Porta Romana
It might sound like an Italian lighting brand, but Porta Romana is a design studio with its British identity at its core. I love to feature Porta Romana in Livingetc. It makes lamps from plaster, ceiling lights in a vibrant persimmon shade and fashions glass into shapes you didn't know was possible. Each light is fantastical in its own way, helping to create energised spaces.
When I interviewed the brand's co-founder and creative director Andrew Hills recently he told me that "if you take a risk you create a space where you can get lost in details and let your imagination wander." And Porta Romana makes risks that aren't in the least bit risky, exciting pieces that will always look exceptional.
Porta Romana's designs are all made in the UK, where possible, using local makers to create their artisanal, super-luxurious pieces.
Showroom: Porta Romana has a showroom in Design Centre Chelsea Harbour. Ground Floor, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, London, SW10 0XE.
Tom Dixon
Like Lee Broom, Tom Dixon designs so much more than lighting, covering everything from furniture to private members' clubs. But he is known for lighting because so many of his pieces became era-defining classics as soon as they launched: the Copper Ball pendant, for example, was seen in almost every Livingetc home for years (and is still a much-loved favourite).
Having interviewed Tom many times, he is constantly thinking about the problems facing modern life, and how design can help solve them. It's no wonder then that he has turned successfully to rechargeable lamps, offering flexibility and ease when it's what we all crave most. His Bell light, above, won a Livingetc Style Award last year.
Showroom: Tom Dixon's London showroom can be found at Coal Drops Yard, near King's Cross. 4-10 Bagley Walk, N1C 4DH.
Tom Raffield
Product designer Tom Raffield has a specialist expertise in using steam to bend wood into incredible, ornate shapes, and his brand's furniture, accessories, and lighting is all inspired by his learned mastery of this craft.
The brand's lighting is undoubtedly its signature though, especially the pendants and chandeliers with their handcrafted, curvaceous silhouettes.
The brand is based in Cornwall, where Tom's steambending workshop resides. The brand is retailed directly from the Tom Raffield site, as well as from high-end stockists including John Lewis and Heal's.
Showroom: As well as with its retailers, Tom Raffield has showrooms in London's Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour and in Falmouth. F3 Church View Business Park, Bickland Water Road, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 4FZ.
