It started with the top of an air filter sticking out of a trash can. That moment sent Stephen Pikus down a path that's since diverted around 50 tons of landfill-bound material, much of it sourced through a long-standing relationship with Volvo, into handcrafted lighting sculpture. His first competition entry came in 2014, first sales in 2015, and the studio's grown since then to around 20 people, with dozens more passing through its learnership and internship programs each year.

The studio also works with a network of informal glass recyclers, paying them three times the local market rate for the sea glass that anchors the Fire & Ice collection.

As Stephen told journalist Glenn Hasek, "I fell in love with the process of making something out of waste."

The feature runs through the full collection range, Fire & Ice, Bloom, Blow, Fluxx, Liefie, and Midnite Oil, along with the studio's custom work, from large-scale sculptural light trees to immersive light art installations.

You can see more of the studio's work on YouTube (@stephenpikusdesign) and Instagram (@stephenpikusdesign).

Read the full feature at Green Lodging News.

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