Shop Talk: Peek in on Brandon Morrison's Lamp-Making Process
Get an up-close and personal view of a Los Angeles lighting designer as he crafts one of his artful table lamps
Lighting designer and Louisiana native Brandon Morrison favors quality craftsmanship and bringing the manufacturing process back to the basics. The founder of lighting and furniture company whyrHymer, Morrison designs the ceramic lampshades and shapes the wooden bases by hand in his Los Angeles studio; all the remaining parts are sourced from local suppliers within a 3-mile radius. Someone who can find design inspiration anywhere, from Oreos to power line towers, Morrison tries to deconstruct the typical lamp shape with custom designs in innovative new forms.
I recently had a chance to visit the whyrHymer studio and see Morrison prepare a new version of his Manhattan Series No. 8 lamp for Palm Springs Modernism Week.
I recently had a chance to visit the whyrHymer studio and see Morrison prepare a new version of his Manhattan Series No. 8 lamp for Palm Springs Modernism Week.
It's easy to fall in love with the craftsmanship of whyrHymer's designs, but their charm also lies in the fact that this is a family business. The name whyrHymer came from Morrison's friend's difficulty in pronouncing his dog's breed, Weimaraner. Morrison runs his studio with his wife, Sundeep, and daughter Sonia can be found exploring the showroom on the weekends.
The Process
The lamp tops are ceramic with a nickel-color glaze. For the tops that are different colors, the nickel glaze is first sanded and then a quick-drying lacquer paint is applied. The lamps come in a polished nickel color and primary colors such as red, orange, blue, white and sapphire, but Morrison would like to explore more colors, including translucent colors, and making the lamp tops out of glass.
The lamp tops are ceramic with a nickel-color glaze. For the tops that are different colors, the nickel glaze is first sanded and then a quick-drying lacquer paint is applied. The lamps come in a polished nickel color and primary colors such as red, orange, blue, white and sapphire, but Morrison would like to explore more colors, including translucent colors, and making the lamp tops out of glass.
Morrison's inspiration for the Manhattan Series No. 8 lamps came from a metal cylinder with perforated holes, seen at right, given to him by a friend. Morrison first made the entire lamp out of wood (including the top piece), but that proved to not be the right material for the look he wanted.
A friend's mother then suggested trying a ceramic mold. Morrison found two local professionals in downtown Los Angeles to make molds, and a new lamp series was born.
A friend's mother then suggested trying a ceramic mold. Morrison found two local professionals in downtown Los Angeles to make molds, and a new lamp series was born.
He spends a significant amount of time sculpting each lamp base, made of solid walnut, to give it a tailored shape. The bases come in different colors and materials, including walnut, white oak, cherry and mahogany.
When Morrison is making the base of the lamp, he goes back and forth, checking how the base looks in relation to the top and then returning to the sculpting process to perfect its shape.
After sanding the wood, he finishes each base with oil to bring out its natural beauty.
Then he each lamp with electrical wiring by hand.
Here Morrison wires a finished lamp with a white oak base.
Why whyrHymer?
Morrison is a self-taught designer who originally came to California from Louisiana in pursuit of an acting career. He serendipitously fell in love with design after making a kitchen hutch for a friend. "I went to the grocery store and bought the coolest-looking food labels and made a collage that accented the piece. That opened my eyes to what kind of creativity I had under the surface," he says.
With each whyrHymer design, Morrison tries to be open and not limit himself to any one aesthetic. "I don't try to fit every model of home out there, but I do feel that my work can naturally live in most homes and not look out of place," he says. "I am a slave with what feels right with my soul."
Morrison is a self-taught designer who originally came to California from Louisiana in pursuit of an acting career. He serendipitously fell in love with design after making a kitchen hutch for a friend. "I went to the grocery store and bought the coolest-looking food labels and made a collage that accented the piece. That opened my eyes to what kind of creativity I had under the surface," he says.
With each whyrHymer design, Morrison tries to be open and not limit himself to any one aesthetic. "I don't try to fit every model of home out there, but I do feel that my work can naturally live in most homes and not look out of place," he says. "I am a slave with what feels right with my soul."
Design Philosophy
"I feel that I have achieved the understanding of restraint in a way that helps me to create lighting that makes a statement but isn't in your face," says Morrison. "I don't want my work to be used to get attention. I want to hold your attention so that the more you look at the piece, the more you see the subtleties that make it alive. Good design is always giving energy; you just have to pay attention."
"I feel that I have achieved the understanding of restraint in a way that helps me to create lighting that makes a statement but isn't in your face," says Morrison. "I don't want my work to be used to get attention. I want to hold your attention so that the more you look at the piece, the more you see the subtleties that make it alive. Good design is always giving energy; you just have to pay attention."