Designer of the week...

Pablo Pardo. About ten years ago a lamp by Pablo began appearing in hip restaurants in San Francisco and New York. Composed of a tear-drop, cast aluminum body and a sandblasted shade, the Sophie Lamp turned an ordinary table top into a dreamscape for intimate conversations. Coming from a family of designers, the work of Venezuelan-born Pablo Pardo is deceptively simple, often made from no more than a couple of materials, beautifully crafted and devoid of superflous details. Once in use, however, Pablo’s lamps take on a new character that is much more experiential than simply visual. It is the experience rather than the look of an object that Pablo sought in his designs.

Joel is a contributor on Design-Milk's weekly architectural posts and Apartment Therapy's Unplggd daily technology posts.