Artichokes are for lovers.
According to legend, everyone from the Greek god Zeus to Catherine de Medici believed in the seductive power of this flower-like vegetable. They are difficult to eat, but worth the reward; in need of patience, attention, and a delicate touch; exotic, strange, and luxurious. Who wouldn’t want to share one with a partner?
Photo by Magdalena Rackza on Unsplash.
At Graymoor Lane, we have our own Artichoke Collection. We’ve already done the hard work for you and stripped off each tender leaf, offering you the chance to wear a delicate petal for your lover. Each bracelet, pendant, ring, or pair of earrings offers just a taste of the romance embodied in this remarkable delicacy.
Select Pieces from the Artichoke Collection
We were inspired in our design not only by legendary romance, but also by our romantic nostalgia for Mid-century design. You might wonder how those two go together, but if you have ever had the chance to bask in the glow of one of Poul Henningsen’s remarkable PH lamps, you know exactly what we mean.
From Art Nouveau to Art Deco
Poul Henningsen was born in Copenhagen in 1894. He grew up surrounded by Art Nouveau designs, with their undulating curves and beautiful floral inspirations. As a young man, he became a designer, himself. Like so many of the great innovators of the Mid-century, he was an architect by trade. He also worked as a journalist, an editor, and he even wrote for stage productions and films.
Henningsen developed an artistic approach that combined his scientific interest in light with the contemporary aesthetics of early twentieth-century Deco and Modernism. He rejected the ornamental geometry of Deco, but he did embrace its overall line and effect. The result was a series of lamps manufactured by Louis Poulsen and exhibited at the groundbreaking International Exposition of Decorative Arts and Modern Industry in Paris in 1925. There, Henningsen set the standard for his lifelong commitment to organic forms, warm light, and modern design. Although World War II upended Henningsen’s career, he designed hundreds of lamps of increasing atmospheric style over nearly forty years, leaving behind plans for dozens more upon his death in 1967.
The Langelinie Pavilion
A decade before he passed, Henningsen designed what has become, perhaps, his most iconic lamp. Danish architects Eva and Niels Koppel had won a competition to provide the city of Copenhagen with an architecturally beautiful, modern pavilion for the waterfront. The original Langelinie Pavilion had been designed by Wilhelm Dahlerup, the architect of Copenhagen’s beloved Tivoli Gardens, and a later iteration had been destroyed by Nazi-sympathizers during the War. The Koppels planned for a new public building on the Promenade that would bring the city back together and usher Danish design to European prominence. To light their magnificent glass-and-steel structure, they collaborated with Denmark’s greatest lamp designer, Poul Henningsen.
Photo courtesy of the Langelinie Pavilion.
The Artichoke Lamp
The Artichoke Lamp was, quite simply, brilliant design. Seventy-two copper leaves, draping down like the petals of an artichoke, diffused a central light source. The result was pure, organic atmosphere that blended the linearity of early twentieth-century Deco and the emerging Scandinavian Modern movement. Five were installed in the Langelinie Pavilion, and one of the originals still hangs there.
The design has been in production from Louis Poulsen ever since. Its warm tones make it the perfect design accent in any space, from urban pavilion to suburban living room.
So when you put on your Graymoor Lane Artichoke Studs or let your Artichoke Bangle add that romantic sparkle to your day, know that you are taking part in a tradition of warmth, romance, and design brilliance that echoes the best of Danish design and the most romantic of myths.
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