DESIGNER OF THE DAY

Designer of the Day: Bec Brittain

Bec Brittain’s lifelong interest in form, materials, and technology has culminated in an acclaimed boutique lighting design firm that rushes headlong into narrative explorations of craft and philosophy. The New York City designer deliberately eschews trends in favor of harnessing her clean-lined creations as subtle conduits that convey the mathematical, sculptural, and poetic themes that have steered her imagination since the beginning.

Bec Brittain’s lifelong interest in form, materials, and technology has culminated in an acclaimed boutique lighting design firm that rushes headlong into narrative explorations of craft and philosophy. The New York City designer deliberately eschews trends in favor of harnessing her clean-lined creations as subtle conduits that convey the mathematical, sculptural, and poetic themes that have steered her imagination since the beginning.

Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.

Age: 39

Occupation: Designer.

Instagram: @bec_brittain

Hometown: Washington, DC.

Studio location: Flatiron, Manhattan.

Describe what you make: Systems expressing light in innovative, mathematical, and sculptural permutations, that people can live with today and tomorrow. I’m not a fan of unnecessary waste, so (I hope) I’m making meaningful collectibles that last. 

The most important thing you’ve designed to date: By far the SHY Collection because it germinated and evolved into so many offspring that have come to be known as the narrative of my work today. 

Describe the problem your work solves: How to be cool yet timeless, feminine yet masculine, all while keeping true to the values of meaningful consumption and sustainability. 

Describe the project you are working on now: A new body of work interweaving thoughts I’ve had on the sacraments of Catholicism, motherhood, and modern gender relations.

What you absolutely must have in your studio: A clear spot of floor to work on. Headphones. Podcasts. 

What you do when you’re not working: I am a very competitive game player. I will get serious over some shuffleboard. Or bowling. Or pool. Or Scrabble. I may also have a scratch-off lottery ticket habit. 

Sources of creative envy: Gino Sarfatti. Formafantasma. 

The distraction you want to eliminate: Email.

Concrete or marble? Concrete.

High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.

Remember or forget? Remember.

Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts.

Dark or light? Dark. Ironic, I know.

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