The Atelier
Our workshop is located in the beautiful Sauerland region of Germany, the historic heartland of high-end lighting fabrication in Germany.
To this day the region remains a manufacturing center for the lighting industry allowing us to work in close collaboration with local craftmen and other workshops specializing in areas such as metal casting, custom surfaces or custom LED products.
Traditional craftsmanship
Our workshop employs traditional making processes and hand-finishing to create pieces that are beautiful in every detail.
Because most products today are mass manufactured via automated or semi automated machinery, craftsmen skilled in traditional manufacturing methods have become rare.
Our craftsmen are keeping these traditional skills alive and passing them on to the next generation.
Each piece we make inserts itself in a long tradition of regional craftmanship.
Precision engineering
In addition to traditional craftmanship, our workshop uses precision automated machinery allowing us to realise a wide range of components and designs in house.
This set up makes it possible to offer customizations and bespoke pieces, even for single pieces or small series.
Knowledge and Skill
A look into how some of the pieces are made,
and the many steps it takes to make an Areti light.
In Detail: The Artist and the Atelier
Historically, artists and architects have been closely involved in the making of their pieces and projects and Areti sees itself in this tradition of designing as well as creating the material work.
The aesthetic and the physical quality of a design object are two sides of the same coin.
A beautiful idea, sketch or photorealistic render speaks to the aesthetic quality of the object.
The aesthetic quality relates to how beautiful, meaningful or innovative a design is.
It is entirely possible however, that the material execution of a beautiful idea is done on a level inferior to that of the design.
A beautiful design that is executed in an average manner, cannot be an excellent design object. It might be an excellent design idea, but it is not itself an excellent design object.
The material execution must be on a very high level to honor the beauty of the design itself.
For this reason, a designer cannot but be intensely involved in the fabrication process.
It has taken us many years to establish our own atelier. It has been the most difficult experience because matter behaves in an infinite number of unexpected ways.
We now have an atelier with a dedicated, experienced and innovative team, who have managed to give material life to our designs, often even beyond our hopes and imagination.
When the material execution brings an additional depth to the design, and is able to elevate the design, the material object has reached its full maturity.
We aim for this in every object. The quality of the pieces produced in our atelier is exceptional.
We are consistently revising existing models to further refine details. New manufacturing methods developed for new designs are integrated into the manufacturing of existing models.
Images do some justice, but seeing the pieces in person, feeling the weight, solidity, and refined surfaces allows for a full appreciation of the exceptional craftsmanship and engineering.