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Thomas Maxam Expands its Bricks Lighting Collection
The humble suburban brick gets a (literal) glow-up in Thomas Maxam’s expanded Bricks lighting collection, illuminating the role of a material that is ubiquitous but crucial.
A playful, tongue-in-cheek vein runs through the work of Melbourne design studio Thomas Maxam. A line of single-bud vases, made from borosilicate tubing heated and bent to form scrunched-up ends, are billed by the studio as ‘ugly little abominations’. Its series of candle holders are stackable, with the Thomas Maxam team encouraging customers to continue adding to their collection so they can grow a ‘spectacular tower’. And its Bricks collection pays tribute to the unheralded cornerstone of suburban homes across Australia: the brick.
The Bricks collection was first launched at Melbourne Design Week in 2022, with the design community commending Thomas Maxam for its playful approach to an everyday object as expressed through a wall sconce, linear pendant, single pendant and lantern pendant. Now, the range has been expanded to encompass a chandelier, stacked lantern pendant, table lamp and floor lamp.
Textured, cold-moulded glass units – made by pouring molten glass into custom moulds which are the precise dimensions of a brick – are variously configured in each piece to encourage observers to rethink the unassuming item in their imagination. The floor lamp rises starkly like a plinth from the ground, with light glowing from its summit, while the chandelier comprises vertically positioned bricks embedded around a minimalist metallic ring.
“The collection is centred around the pitted texture of hand-poured glass bricks, which drove us to explore unique ways to house and present them,” says Maxam Whiteley, who co-founded Thomas Maxam with Thomas Cohen. The studio specialises in clever homewares and lighting designs.
The metal frames and supports of each light draw attention to the texture of the glass’s surface, which filters light to emit a soft glow. The initial Bricks range was launched with just one metal assembly: brushed stainless steel. Now, along with the expanded collection, Thomas Maxam has released an enlarged selection of metal finishes: brushed brass, antique bronze, gunmetal, polished stainless steel and coloured powdered coats. These enable the studio to broaden its reach and offers the design community greater scope when masterminding projects.
Every piece in the Bricks collection is designed and prototyped in Melbourne, then made to order by a local metalworker. The collection is the legacy of Whiteley and Cohen’s dedication to exploring the possibilities of the materials they work with and exploiting technical fidelity to enable ultimate self-expression. It’s also not the end of the studio’s ambitions for the Bricks series. “We’re excited to broaden its reach with these new additions and finishes, with further Bricks fittings already in development,” says Cohen.
