Photo: Alanna Hale
There was a time when Noz Nozawa had two hobbies: crafting interiors and designing jewelry. In launching her firm, Noz Design, in 2014, the former became her career. Now the latter has made its way into her work in a new collaboration with Corbett Lighting. As part of her ideation process for the range of sconces, chandeliers and pendants—all inspired by jewelry—Nozawa embarked on historical research, studied stones, and collected vintage and antique pieces.
“Jewelry making and lighting manufacturing share a lot in common: Lenses and gemstones are similar, especially when those lenses are cut crystal or alabaster or some other luminous stone,” Nozawa explains, adding that “both categories use chains and require metalsmithing techniques that are quite similar, except for the scale and the fineness of the metals.”
For the 16 creations, yellow gold translates to polished brass and gold-plated finishes that imbue textural variation. The Bezel sconces, for instance, channel a Victorian-era three-stone ring that Nozawa wears daily. “As often as we designers say that lighting is the jewelry of a room,” she says, “I am not sure if we have ever been extremely literal about designing light fixtures based on jewelry!”
