We meet outside his St Kilda studio on a sunny spring morning. I find him leaning on a car sipping his morning coffee while talking on the phone. He introduces himself and invites me inside. Before we sit, Ilan El shows me around his studio. From the showroom area at the front, to the design space and workshop at the back, there is no denying the amount of hard work that goes on within these walls. There is something rather calming about being in the presence of a designer in their creative space, and as he takes me through each space, I am left assured of his talent and passion for his craft. Ilan practiced as an architect for years before embarking on a life-changing journey, moving across the world to Australia. After arriving in Melbourne 12 years ago, he undertook a Masters program at RMIT’s Design School. And from there, his very own, ILANEL Bespoke Lighting and Design Studio, was established.
He describes himself as someone who is unafraid of design, regardless of which discipline it derives from. This, and an eagerness to try different things, can be attributed to his transition from architecture to industrial design. “One of the projects I worked on as an architect overseas required bespoke lighting. I usually dive headfirst when I’m dealing with a new territory that I’m not familiar with, and that is exactly what I did with that project,” he says before adding, “I mean, I wouldn’t cut hair because I have no idea how to do that!” This confidence, paired with an air of modesty, is what makes Ilan remarkable; not only in person, but it translates through his pieces also.
While he speaks, I cannot help but take in my surroundings and appreciate the amount of talent this man has. There are prototypes scattered around the studio, works-in-progress on tables and completed pieces hanging from every spare inch on the ceiling. “When people walk into my studio, I tell them that what they see here is a starting point for discussion,” he says. “It shows them that this is what I can do, but it doesn’t stop here.” He promises me that if I were to return in couple months, the place would look completely different. And I believe him. Ilan has refined the inspiration behind his pieces as a fusion of natural sciences. Having always had an appreciation for nature in its purest form, his architectural background ignited a curiosity for science and eventually formed the foundation for his creations. “I pick up themes from all sciences…sometimes biology, sometimes chemistry and sometimes even alchemy,” he says. This marriage between nature and science is also evident in the names of his pieces such as, ‘Falling Leaves’, ‘Supernova’, the ‘Rain’ series and ‘Saturn’. All of these pieces, entirely unique from one another, represent what ILANEL stands for as a bespoke lighting atelier.
One of his more recent projects, ‘Tree of Light’, is a striking example of this notion of natural sciences. A woman came to him with an image of a light she had found and commissioned him to create a piece for her home. Insisting he would not create a blatant copy of this particular piece, he took inspiration from the image and interpreted it to create the stunning feature. “This was an interesting project. Luckily two doors up from here is a glassblowing studio and we became best friends. Our team worked with her to help develop everything from the shapes and sizes of the glass, down to the quantities and drop,” he recalls. These deliberations between creatives finally produced the distinct branched look that would eventually become a ‘Tree of Light’. The end result is a feat of the collaboration between creative minds in an attempt to inject fresh ideas into concepts. “When you’re on your own, you don’t necessarily have any restrictions so it makes the process challenging when you have too many ideas going through your mind. But when you work with someone else, you have this incredible dialogue with them and you get more creative.”
Whether he is collaborating with other designers, working on a client’s concept or his own collection, Ilan’s design process is never the same as the last. He sees any design process as more of a ‘tangle’ rather than a ‘straight line’. Like with any design discipline there are multiple elements to consider, from technicality to aesthetics. However, when designing lighting, it is vital to create an object that thrives in its two states. And this is something Ilan is a master at. “I must always consider the fact that lights have two states: on and off. I ask myself, ‘how does it look when it is off, and how does it look when it is switched on and comes to life?’” he explains. From here, our conversation turns to materials and upon asking which elements he loves working with most, his true passions unfold. It’s like listening to a child describing his favourite ride at the theme park. His excitement is utterly infectious. “I love working with metal. It’s a material that has so much in it. It’s cold and it’s warm, it’s malleable and it’s rigid,” he recites. He adds further, “it is the juxtaposition of materials that I find most intriguing. Porcelain, for example, is so soft and fragile and on the other hand it becomes a stiff material that has been baked in a kiln at hundreds of degrees.” Every detail of each piece is meticulously considered and sourced. While most elements are sourced and produced locally in Melbourne, Ilan insists that to produce the best you need materials of the highest quality. This means sourcing certain electrical parts from Italy, fabrics from Paris and aluminium from Germany. Not only does he source materials internationally, his pieces can be found all over the world in an array of private residences, hotels and commercial spaces. His reach has expanded far from his humble studio in St. Kilda and into spaces across the globe, which is more than he could ever have hoped for.
In October 2016, ILANEL had the honour of creating a light installation for the main stage at the fourth annual ‘Save the Children’ Illumination Gala at the Plaza Hotel ballroom in Manhattan. “That opportunity was something that filled me with joy and happiness. It’s the fact that we could give back that was pretty amazing,” he recalls. Lighting people’s lives is what Ilan does best, both literally and emotionally. His architectural background gives his designs a rational foundation to create an object that is not only visually appealing, but also completely useable. “I read somewhere that design is ‘engineered art’, and I think that is where I’m sitting…somewhere between art and design. Coming from architecture and a work of science, I need rationale. I need logic. I need proportion. I need mathematics,” he explains, “and this is what makes me designer as opposed to an artist.”
View more of Ilan’s work on his website here.
Photographed by Lillie Thompson.
