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Benedict Radcliffe: Taking Life One Bend at a Time
EUREKA!
Dominic swire talks lighting design
By: Wessel Stoltz
Fresh out of university, and with a degree
in making things behind his name, the
twenty-something Dominic Swire didn’t
let any grass grow beneath his feet: he’s
the founder and head designer at Swire
Designs where he lives out his passion of
making functional sculptures. We caught
up with him to find out a little more.
Your lighting designs all appear to be born
out of an aesthetic point of view rather than
a functional one. Do you think form or
function is more important?
Initially I think about the form and then
take into consideration the constraints of
the practical applications, for example,
bulb sizes, overheating etc. Above all I
want my designs to be used and enjoyed.
All of your lighting incorporates either wire
You studied Furniture & Product Design.
or sheet metal. Why the affinity to metal?
What attracted you to this field?
I like to use metal for its industrial
I was passionate about sculpture and its
appearance; it complements lighting so
practical application.
well. Also it is an extremely malleable
material which gives me the freedom to
You mainly focus on lighting design and
experiment with form. Sculpting with
your first range is called “Mind”. The
metal is a dynamic design process – I can
figures in the designs all seem to admire
change my pieces as I create them, often
and embrace the Y