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Niche Lighting: Handmade by Nature
With its commitment to handmade, artisanal processes, unwavering quality and colour, American brand Niche has carved out a distinctive place in the global lighting market.
Lighting brand Niche owes its origins to the ‘If you can’t find it, make it’ mindset of its creative director Jeremy Pyles. Back in 2003, Pyles couldn’t source suitable modern lighting for his homewares store, Niche, in NYC’s East Village. Undeterred, he partnered with a glassblower to design and produce a light to grace the store’s front window. That voluptuous pendant, the Stamen, was not only the first light produced by Niche – it remains the company’s signature product.
In the two decades since, the Stamen pendant light has been joined by a multitude of other ranges, but Niche’s ethos has remained unchanged: to produce luxury, hand-crafted, durable and timeless lighting on a small-scale, and to embrace colour – and lots of it. The Stamen, for example, is now available in eight hues, including Moss, Fig, Sapphire and Plum, as well as an Ombra variation, which transitions from opaline to crystal clear. It was released to commemorate the company’s 20th anniversary in 2023.
Originally based in New York City, Niche moved the majority of its operations upstate in 2008 to Beacon, an artsy hub on the Hudson River in the Hudson Valley. Here, in a beautifully converted century-old foundry, Niche’s designers, glass artists and technicians work in a collaborative spirit, one that underlies everything the company creates.
Niche is available exclusively in Australia through Byron Bay-based Creative Lighting Solutions. Lighting consultant Eleanor Blackstock is a Niche convert because “every detail is thoughtfully considered,” she says. “Its bold colour palette is unique, beautifully complementing the clean silhouettes of the designs. As well, Niche’s commitment to artisanal craftsmanship and its made-not-manufactured ethos are reflected in the exceptional quality of each light.”
Take the Trove pendant, which comes in two iterations – a straight-lined version that is part of the Crystalline series and a textured model, from the Optique collection. Both take their inspiration from the idea of a treasure chest and the magic contained within, in this case a tubular Edison-style LED bulb encased in hand-blown glass. The Crystalline version comes in six glorious saturated hues, including Condesa, a stunning aquamarine shade. The Trove has been designed to complement three other lights in the Crystalline series – the Axia, Calla and Delinea.
Another stand-out piece in Creative Lighting Solutions’ collection is the Pod chandelier, a distinctly contemporary and sophisticated luminaire that elevates any space. It comprises five hand-blown glass ‘pods’ attached to a 91-centimetre-wide metal ring that is available in brushed aluminium, polished aluminium or satin brass. The chandelier has five adjustable height options – via four 15-centimetre rods – and the glass pods come in five colours, including Plum and Smoke.
Two recent architectural projects show off Niche lighting to stunning effect. In The Rambler, a low-slung, black-brick residence north of Seattle in Washington state, architect GO’C utilised a Stamen pendant in the dining area. It stands sentinel in the largely neutral space, forming a delicious counterpoint to the pale timber slatted roof. Stamens also illuminate multiple spaces in Country Club Residence by Tammara Stroud Design – also in Washington state – including the dramatic, dark timber kitchen and a light-filled stairwell.
Architecture by GO’C and Tammara Stroud Design. Lighting by Niche.
