We had the opportunity to visit the Artemide showroom in Soho for a private viewing of their collections. Artemide has an extensive catalog ranging from floor lamps, ceiling fixtures and table lamps. They are transitioning some of their fixtures to incorporate LEDs but it depends on the family. Some new fixtures that are available or are in development are only going to be available in LED.
We noticed that the most successful fixtures from Artemide are the ones that have a larger family with several sizes and mounting options. Castore is one of those families that Artemide does well. Hand-blown frosted glass with a halogen lamp. We also saw it with a retro-fit LED lamp and was almost as good as the original in terms of even illumination.
The Mercury is another line that Artemide has become known for. A group of pebbles as Artemide likes to call them, are grouped together in configurations either suspended or surface mounted. LEDs are integral to several of the pebbles and allows light to reflect off the surrounding surfaces. Artemide has even installed the pebbles on projects without the illuminated pieces for a purely sculptural effect. One thing we did notice is that it works better as a ceiling piece with the LEDs because the diodes aren't as noticeable and in your face like when it is a wall mounted installation.
Artemide also has a collection of exterior rated fixtures including in-ground pavers, step lights, bollards and wall sconces. Some of their fixtures were pretty impressive and comparable to other manufacturers we have seen. One highlight in their exterior lines which they also had a sample of installed in their showroom, the Tolomeo Xxl. The Tolomeo Xxl is a large scale version of their interior fixture of the same name.
