Chen Chen & Kai Williams

2016

Caviar Sconces direct an illuminated lens onto a textured surface, crafting a portal into another realm. The black granules, reminiscent of caviar, are composed of steel shot—an industrial sanding material—bound together with epoxy. An open-faced mold shapes the sconce’s back with precise technical form, while the top surface is left to chance, shaped by the freefall of the “caviar” granules. This duality—material both shaped and self-forming—embodies our design philosophy of collaborating with materials, allowing their inherent nature to guide the process.

Since its inception, the sconce has evolved to incorporate other materials: pyrite, quartz, brass globules, sand, and garnet, each adding its own voice to the conversation between form and substance.

Each piece is unique due to process.

120V/220V: LED, 3000K, dimmable by TRIAC (forward-phase or leading-edge), ELV (reverse-phase or trailing-edge) and 0-10 V dimmers.

2011

Swell Vase is made by a foam of polyurethane swelling against a net of spandex, it thrusts the net outward; at the limit of stretch, the mesh’s perforations behave like a die, permitting the foam to bloom through in knotted, organic protrusions. Beneath this elastic veil rests a hidden glass vessel, allowing the vase—despite its unruly exterior—to receive water and flowers with full functionality. Each vase emerges unique and irreproducible, shaped by expansion, tension, and chance.

Polyurethane, left unguarded, would succumb to the sun and crumble. A rubberized paint is therefore applied—sometimes in solid coats, sometimes in successive light mists. These delicate mists deposit the paint only on the convex foam, sparing the recessed spandex and preserving its color.