Italy – the land of la dolce vita, gastronomic delights, stunning countryside, stylish cities, centuries old architecture and sunny days on holiday. In addition Italy is also a big player on the design scene. From the glory days of the 1950’s right through the 60’s, 70’s and to today. Italy has always had an original and super stylish contribution to make to the international design conversation.

This week marks International Dark Sky Week 2019. It highlights the effects of light pollution on our lives, environment and (funnily enough) the sky. Prior to the introduction of artificial electric lighting the night sky was filled with endless amounts of stars, inspiring everything from art to religion and philosophy over the ages.

Good lighting is critical as part of any design scheme but one that is so frequently a second thought when building and designing homes and buildings and one that so often gets it wrong. The challenge is about getting the balance right and creating a space that is a pleasure to be in.

Helena Duggan has been part of the Willie Duggan team for many years and involved in many big projects from the development of our own catalogue to the building of our premise in Kilkenny city. Helena has been holding this business to account for our brand. She started her career with us as our Graphic Designer and made her way through the ranks to now having her hands firmly on our image.

When we think of something that triggers our emotions, there’s always the first few things that come to mind; music, art, family and a personal one for me…food. These things all attribute to our daily emotional state and how we react to them.

I’m inspired by the old principles of Chiaroscuro that dates back to the 17th century, the world of lighting and design. Lighting plays such a crucial role throughout art history as it has the ability to change the narrative of a painting, room or building. Whether it be dramatic and mysterious to relaxing and sublime.