SØKTAS
SØKTAS’s Coral range makes a refined statement in Cera Stribley’s Brixton residence in Melbourne, reflecting the lighting brand’s elevated status among architects.
Born from the meeting of glassmaker Oliver Höglund and Ryan Roberts in Oslo, Norway, in 2015, SØKTAS (meaning ‘searched’ in Norwegian) draws from a multitude of influences to create its elevated range of lighting. Though Höglund has a Swedish background – both his father and grandfather worked at the renowned Kosta Boda glassworks in Sweden – he grew up in Nelson, New Zealand, while Roberts, the business mind behind the brand, is Australian.
Previously based in New Zealand, SØKTAS moved its operations to Currumbin on the Gold Coast in 2018 and now embodies the laid-back beachside aesthetic of the slower-paced southern end of the coast. “I mean, we’re five minutes from the beach and you can see the ocean from the windows of our workshop, so the location has definitely played a part in what we’ve created since we moved here eight years ago,” Höglund explains.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the Coral range, named for its distinctive sand-blasted texture that resembles coral. In clear and frosted handblown Swedish glass, and available in a wide range of finishes – brass, matte black, bronze, matte white and steel – the collection ranges from wall sconces and pendants to the dazzling Coral Ring 20, where 20 individual glass discs of varying sizes are mounted on a sculptural metal circle.
SØKTAS moved its operations to Currumbin in 2018 and now embodies the laid-back beachside aesthetic of the slower-paced southern end of the Gold Coast.
One of the most sublime iterations is the Coral Linear Rod which has been consistently specified by some of the country’s leading architects, reflecting SØKTAS’s esteemed reputation in the design community. Set above dining tables and kitchen islands in both private homes and large-scale multi-residential projects, it becomes a pivotal sculptural moment.
For Brixton, a calm, considered family home in Melbourne’s leafy Glen Iris, leading architecture and design practice Cera Stribley positioned the Coral Linear Rod above an elongated, dark timber dining table. The focal point of the kitchen, dining and living space, it reflects the room’s subdued colour palette and premium materiality, working seamlessly with the stone, glass, velvet and metallic highlights. Smaller in dimension but equally magnetic, the Coral Duo brings soft luminescence to a bathroom in the home, its ambient glow creating a perfect counterpoint to the dramatic stone benchtop and sharp lines of the metal basin and tapware.
The Coral Duo brings soft luminescence to a bathroom, its ambient glow creating a perfect counterpoint to the dramatic stone benchtop.
“It’s always such a privilege to have our lights featured in homes and larger-scale projects by architects and designers who have an appreciation for the handcrafted nature of our work,” Roberts says. “I think it’s also an acknowledgement of our in-house production process, something which enables us not only to ensure the work is reflective of Oliver and me but allows us to maintain impeccable standards.”
