16 January 2009

Wiseman and Phillips

How does an ex-corporate high-flyer wind up with a larrikin Australian designer?

Ian Wiseman was fed up with the corporate world, “I’d had enough of all talk and no action,” he says. “Companies should never lose focus on what they do – too many times organisations spend time running round in circles not making decisions rather than making things happen.”

So he set out on his own path as a supplier of quality lighting products, with a design orientation. On his travels he met up with Australian designer Dean Phillips.

Phillips is a designer who shares Wiseman’s view and believes strongly in Australian design’s ability to compete with European manufacturers and the two quickly struck up a friendship.

“It was always my intention to align myself with a quality local brand and when I was introduced to Dean Phillips, it made the whole plan fit together,” Wiseman says.

Melbourne-based Phillips has his own eponymous brand as well as a new architectural lighting brand called Darkon, both distributed in NSW through Wiseman’s LightCulture.

“Dean is a brilliant designer and using the creativity of the Dean Phillips range the influence he is having on the Darkon brand is exciting to say the least.”

Phillips’ mix of classic and contemporary lighting puts a uniquely Australian twist on European trends. The designer’s craftsman-like techniques – including gold leaf gilding and porcelain – paired with his knowledge of the latest in LED technology are putting him ahead of the pack.

“He has worked with it [LED] now for so long in his decorative range that he understands it, knows the pitfalls and is designing with it rather than just making LED fit – for a local company to do that is very exciting,” Wiseman says.

Dean Phillips and Darkon are available in NSW through LightCulture

lightculture.com.au

deanphillips.com

darkon.com.au