43
Lumiere
Orbital
Havana
Mite
Foscarini
About shedding light
Mite /2000 — design Marc Sadler
43
Evolution of the concept of Mite
starting from the fi rst prototype.
Above, fi nal version of the lamp
with carbon thread.
Marc Sadler pictured by Gianluca
Vasallo in his workshop-studio.
model supplemented the diffuser with the
use of carbon fi bre and Kevlar® woven
together to create an almost ethnic
pattern. Marc Sadler’s autograph features
next to the Foscarini logo in the marking
on the base.
The position of the light source is also
decisive for the overall lighting effect: three
metal rods maintain the source at the
correct distance from the diffuser,
suspending it from the upper edge while
minimising shadows. The top fi nishing ring,
made of polished mirror fi nish stainless
steel, is designed to act as a refl ector and
direct the light inwards. To rebalance weight
and proportions, a thin wide stainless steel
disc forms the base of the diffuser. The lamp
was immediately also produced in the
suspension version, Tite, in two sizes, of
which Tite 1 has a particularly elongated
shape. The family was expanded in 2001
with the Lite table lamp version and in 2003
with Kite, the wall lamp. Mite and Tite were
awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 2001 on the
following grounds: “These models
constitute a considerable technological
innovation in the fi eld of glass processing”.
The innovative material allowed ample
room for the design of other applications
and versions up to the 2008 Fiber Evolution,
a travelling project-event in partnership with
Sadler held in major cities across Europe, in
New York and Melbourne.
Mite Anniversario was launched in 2021
– to celebrate 20 years since the Compasso
d’Oro award. It is volumetrically identical to
the original but features a matt fi nish body,
with a thinner carbon thread wound around
according to a wider spiral pattern that
becomes thicker towards the base of the
lamp. The base is emphasised with black
marble mottled with white or light grey
veins. The lighting technology components
have been entirely renewed, to deliver a
broader light distribution and total lighting
of the diffuser.
Mite is part of the design collection at
the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Chap. 1 — A new design for light
