Roundup: ICFF, Showrooms, and Shelter by Afternoon Light
NYC x Design Week Roundup
This year’s ICFF and the debut of Shelter by Afternoon Light felt like walking through the collective subconscious of contemporary design — tactile, conceptual, and unapologetically expressive. From sculptural lighting to hand-thrown ceramics and boundary-pushing showrooms, each moment sparked a conversation between form and feeling. Here are a few standout voices and visionary studios that truly moved me:
Form with Feeling: ICFF Highlights
Virginia Sin continues to impress with her perfectly imperfect ceramic lighting and objects — each piece a celebration of the hand, the human, the beautifully undone. Her work feels primal and poetic, like something unearthed from a modern archaeological dream. Her two new lighting collections, Obel & Stria, are rooted in the most beautiful expression of materiality.
Virginia SIN at ICFF
Larose Guyon creates lighting that feels like poetry cast in metal — delicate and romantic. Each piece is meticulously handcrafted, with the sensibility of fine jewelry. There’s an old-world elegance to her work, but it never feels nostalgic — it’s modern in the most sensual, intentional way. Chains drape like silk, glass glows with a soft whisper, and every fixture tells a story of craftsmanship and emotion. Her Abysse and Saule collections are ones that don’t just light up a space, they romance it.
Saule-L-02 Fixture by Larose Guyon
The Shelter Effect: A New Vision from Afternoon Light
The inaugural Shelter by Afternoon Light show was a breath of fresh, design-saturated air — curated with soul, irreverence, and sharp perspective. This show is the future: less trade show, more curated experience.
Marea Chandelier by Avram Rusu Studio
Avram Rusu Studio stunned with their otherworldly chandeliers and glowing compositions — each one felt like a celestial body suspended in stillness. There’s such clarity and tension in their use of geometry and scale. I had the pleasure to meet Andreea Avram Rusu at Shelter and her incredible background as architect, tango dancer, world traveler and the child of scientists is seen through her work. I fell in love with her 11 globe Marea Chandelier. Flexible and customizable, it is layered in handblown glass with delicate brass chains. It was inspired by Andreea’s childhood summers on the Black Sea.
Upstate Lucid Visions at Shelter
Upstate Lucid Visions brought a colorful dreamscape — lush, glossy, vibrational. I was transfixed by the color stories and the sense of levitation with their beautiful vases and show stopping hand-blown glass lamps. The Lucid Vision Lamp made in NYC with brass and a beautiful fabric cord with dimmer is one I’m eyeing for a very special project. The bowls, glass bottles, wall vases and beautiful carafes are all on my wishlist.
Ribbon Dinnerware Set by LES Collection
LES Collection delivered sculptural objects with quiet force. The materiality is rich, the silhouettes restrained but full of presence. Their pieces command space without shouting — true understated drama. Their tablescapes are what dreams are made of. I’ve recently purchased their beautiful Ribbon Dinnerware collection for a client and it was truly stunning.
Design Meccas: Showrooms That
Stirred My Soul
Lovehouse was a treasure chest of texture, tone, and unexpected silhouettes — a playground for the creatively restless. There’s such a confidence in the way they layer nostalgia with a crisp, forward gaze. “The Mother” by Known Work, on view at Lovehouse, was nothing short of transcendent. An ivory linen and bronze fixture that extended gracefully onto the floor, it felt less like lighting and more like ritual. There was a sense of reverence in the way it met the earth — an invitation to pause, connect, and feel.
“The Mother” at Lovehouse
Roman and Williams Guild continues to set the gold standard — every vignette felt like an interior novella: soulful, layered, and utterly transportive. Their curation is always about living with intention and beauty. The Oscar Pendant is the epitome of sculptural subtlety. Its hand-patinated brass shade and stem feel like a love letter to both industrial elegance and artisanal craft. There’s something architectural and deeply sensual about its silhouette — classic, but never expected. It doesn’t just illuminate a space — it adds soul, presence, a true masterclass in timeless modernity.
Roman and Williams Guild
Roll & Hill remains a sculptural force — monumental lighting with refined, architectural lines. There’s always a quiet power to their work, and this year was no exception. A masterclass in material restraint and design boldness. The Moonrise Chandelier is pure poetry in form. Its stacked, crescent-like discs — cast in rich bronze or brushed metal — feel almost ceremonial, like phases of the moon captured mid-transit. It brings a kind of mystical minimalism to a room. This is quintessential Roll & Hill — design-forward, emotionally resonant, and unapologetically sculptural.
Moonrise Chandelier by Roll & Hill
This season’s shows reminded me that great design isn’t just about what you see — it’s about what you feel. When craft meets concept, when storytelling lives in silhouette and surface, that’s when design becomes unforgettable.
— Michelle Waugh