Gantri Goes Wireless

Ten years in, Gantri is doing something it has never done before: letting go of the cord. The California–based lighting company has always approached the fixture as a design object. Now, with Gantri Wireless, that same principle moves freely through a space. The debut collection, powered by Gantri Helia technology, arrives in three distinct families: Drift, Pier, and Eave, each drawn from the textures and ease of California coastal living. Drift, the most serene of the three, takes its cues from smoothed stone and still water. Pier is its counterpoint: graphic, modular, and built to be moved, it references the coast’s boardwalks and the quality of time spent near the ocean. Eave, the most architectural of the three, looks to San Francisco itself. All three families are available in five new colorways drawn from the California landscape: Spruce, Manzanita, Lilac, Magnolia, and Lichen.

To speak about the milestone, Gantri founder and CEO Ian Yang talks about the approach to portability, the creative process alongside Ammunition, and more.

Gantri Wireless is an entirely new product category for the brand. Why was it important to launch now?

Wireless has been on our mind for a long time, but we really wanted to get it right. In fact, we started work on a version of Gantri Wireless several years ago, but the project was tabled a couple times because the design just wasn’t meeting the standards that we envisioned for the collection. Everything in the category felt gadget-driven or generic; we wanted Gantri Wireless to be grounded in design integrity and a human-centered experience. The goal was not to replace one form factor, but actually to rethink the lighting category altogether by producing a high-performance product unlike anything on the market—something that combines the design and performance of Gantri’s plug-in lights with best-in-class portability. Two years ago, we revisited the idea with Ammunition and the vision really began to take shape.

Tell us about the collaboration with Ammunition, what did the creative process look like? 

Our collaboration with Ammunition came about very organically. We collaborated for the first time in 2020 on a series of lamps, including the Gio and Carve collections. When it came to wireless, we were seeking a partner that understood our forward-thinking vision for what this new technology could mean not only for Gantri but for the designers and brands looking to tap into this technology through Gantri Made and really revolutionize what wireless lighting could be. From the start, there was an immediate sense of optimism and possibility. Ammunition brought a strong, emotional, and human-centered design lens that was enabled and encouraged by the possibilities of our manufacturing platform. The result was a collaboration between two teams genuinely trying to redefine what modern lighting could feel like: softer, warmer, more personal, and more responsible. For both of us, the most exciting thing about this collection isn’t what it is today but what it makes possible next.

How did you approach the design of a portable light that performs like a permanent fixture?

The vision for the collection started with human history – a visualization of what light has always been. Before the dawn of the electric age, we followed the light of the sun. We learned to harness this light, creating its echo and afterimage with fire, candlelight, or lantern serving as a companion every step of the way. Then we anchored it to outlets and corners, leashing our freedom and limiting our movement. We imagined Gantri Wireless as a reclamation of this freedom. In order for this to be possible, we needed to tackle the engineering and user difficulties associated with wireless lighting at the source. From there, the Gantri Helia and the concept for our collection’s charging ritual were born. The Helia provides the power and function: up to 1000 lumens, 90+ CRI, up to 16 hours of battery life, and Smart Home connectivity. The charging ritual is made simple and beautiful with the fog-finished puck which enables use for every day. Rather than a traditional USB-C or other cord cable, the puck offers a permanent place for your light, so it feels equally at home whether it’s charging or on the go, removing the friction of charging and maintenance for wireless lighting.

How does 3D printing shape the aesthetic language of Gantri Wireless, and what does it allow you to do that conventional production can’t?

Our approach has always been about fostering the creativity of designers and making design relevant to every person, all while removing the limitations and wastefulness of traditional manufacturing. Our digital manufacturing approach does this by reducing the concept to production timeline down to just a few months, offering an accessible entry point, and producing pieces on demand out of our Bay Area factory using our sugarcane derived Gantri PlantPolymers. The conception of the Gantri Helia combined with our manufacturing process truly made the possibilities for this Wireless Collection endless. Ammunition’s sophisticated LED light engine makes it possible for all the components within a design to be routed where they need to be – no matter the shape. In the case of Ammunition’s Drift, Pier, and Eave collections, they were shaped by our shared SF-origins and reflect various aspects of California living.