Some lamps are good enough that you want more of them. That is the idea behind the expanded Fragile collection from Marset. Designer Jaume Ramírez's blown glass table lamp has been scaled down and multiplied into chandeliers, pendants and wall lights, turning a single object into a full lighting system. Marset presented it at the Franca restaurant in Barcelona, with drawings and experiments gathered over ten years of Ramírez's work.
Three shapes and a glow
Fragile starts from the oldest lamp archetype there is, a base with a shade throwing light in every direction. Ramírez boiled it down to geometry: a cone and a sphere frame a small cylinder that sends a soft, diffuse glow upward from below. In glass, the whole thing almost disappears when it is off and reads as pure light when it is on. Marset describes it as using the language of glass to capture the fragility of life today, which also explains the name.
What makes the new collection work is a smaller size. At that scale the lamp becomes a building block. The sphere and cone can be added, removed, flipped or reordered, and each combination calls up a different familiar lamp from history.
The chandelier is the star
The new Fragile chandelier hangs three, six or nine little lamps from a solid aluminium structure. Each lamp gives warm ambient light, and the fixture also has a downward facing spotlight, so it can light a dining table properly instead of just looking pretty. Marset says the three and six lamp versions suit rooms of any size, while the nine lamp version is meant for high ceilings. The contrast is the point: a sturdy frame against delicate glass, arranged like a fractal where one shape repeats at different scales.
There is also a clustered pendant version for grouping lamps from a single ceiling point, a wall light, and the original table lamp, now in two sizes. Everything comes in three finishes, aluminium, black and matt white, with a choice of 2200K or 2700K light. Dimensions and mounting details are in the chandelier spec sheet.
How to use it at home
- Dining room: the six lamp chandelier over a round or oval table, where the spotlight earns its keep.
- Stairwell or double height space: the nine lamp version, or a tall pendant cluster.
- Bedroom: wall lights either side of the bed in place of bedside lamps.
- Warmth: pick 2200K if you want that candle like restaurant glow, 2700K for everyday living.
Who it is for
Fragile is for people who like glass lighting but find big blown glass statement pieces too much. It is quiet, a little playful, and it scales from one bedside lamp to a whole room. Architects and restaurant designers will love the flexibility.
If you are building a lighting plan around design classics, pair it with our picks on the GUBI Lotus table lamp and the Louis Poulsen PH 1/1 Piano. Find a dealer through Marset.
