A Cherry Brooch at The Met Inspired Eny Lee Parker’s New Lulu and Georgia Collection

In 2020, AD called designer Eny Lee Parker “one to watch”; transfixed is more like it. Since then Parker has departed slightly from her original squiggle-core ceramics to design a jewelry collection, a rug collection, a Lulu and Georgia furniture collection, and—as of today—a 12-piece lighting collection with the same retailer.Courtesy of Lulu and GeorgiaCourtesy of Lulu and GeorgiaWhereas her first collection with Lulu and Georgia was based in terracottas, light woods, and scalloped edges, her new lighting collection has a bit more gravitas. The pieces are made from frosted glass, polished nickel, and sculptural linen shades inspired by, as Parker puts it, “simple gestures.” Still, between its bean-shaped sconces and glowing cherry table lamps, the line has a sense of humor.Parker’s longtime design philosophy is to reinterpret familiar things as surreal objects. “If you know my work, I use a lot of common everyday things like food or flowers and I like to mimic those in a lamp or a piece of furniture,” she says. Her Calla Lily sconces show her mirthful approach, also embodied in her towering egg and pear lamps. For this collection, she was inspired by still life paintings and antique jewelry; in particular by a cherry brooch she found in The Met archives which became the collection’s Rumi lamp.Courtesy of Lulu and GeorgiaCourtesy of Lulu and Georgia“Lighting is one of those products that completely changes the character of a room without fully taking over,” Parker says. Accordingly, each fixture has a distinct personality: the Ara pendant—a huge sculptural linen piece at 42 inches across—reads as “if you were to drop a napkin and it just froze in space,” says Parker. The Nina sconce takes the shape of an Elsa Peretti–inspired bean in frosted glass. The Luma table lamp features a bean as its base, tilted on its side so it looks like it’s rocking between two rounded feet. “There’s a little bit of humor and romance in the collection,” Parker says. “Obviously in the cherry piece. I love the challenge of how to make something like this livable and not too kitschy.”Courtesy of Lulu and GeorgiaCourtesy of Lulu and GeorgiaParker says the collection is a perfect fit for “someone who’s comfortable mixing something refined with something a little odd or a little playful.” In the Gemini lamp, a hammered iron base crawls upwards like a branch and gives way to twin lampshades; and the Pamy floor lamp sets a linen bell shade on hammered iron legs. Both are sober enough to anchor a room, which frees your interiors to live a little: Go ahead, get the cherry lamp. A little kitsch has never looked so elegant.Pieces range from $198 to $798 and are available starting today at luluandgeorgia.com.Shop the Collection:Eny Lee Parker Rumi Table LampEny Lee Parker Ara Pendant LightEny Lee Parker Luma Table LampEny Lee Parker Gemini Floor LampEny Lee Parker Pamy Floor LampEny Lee Parker Nina Sconce