Lambert & Fils puts down roots in New York City

Founder Samuel Lambert couldn’t have predicted where Lambert & Fils would be in 2020 when he signed a lease on a tiny storefront on Rue Beaubien ten years ago. Originally working alone, restoring and creating lamps from antique parts, he quickly sparked the interest of Montrealers and soon expanded the team. The studio’s first true collection was an instant hit, with the Atomium remaining one of their best-selling pieces to this day.

Over the course of ten years, the studio has grown from one founder to fifty employees designing and manufacturing lights in a 20,000 sq ft atelier in the heart of Montreal. Beyond collections destined for residential use, the brand’s special projects department manages multiple large-scale assignments for commercial and public spaces for the likes of Google, the Four Seasons or the Grande Bibliothèque de Montréal.

Through their exploration of new design technologies, Lambert & Fils investigates the many shapes of light – meditating on voids, volumes and the importance of matière première – materials as a point of origin. Like the studio itself, these explorations trace where the unexpected meets the universally poetic – and where humility meets complex design.

A long-standing dream is finally coming to fruition for Lambert & Fils with the opening of a showroom on the ground floor of the historic Schepp Building, a 19th-century neo-Grec and Romanesque Revival red brick structure overlooking Tribeca in NYC. Located at the corner of Hudson and Duane streets on the West side of Manhattan, the majestic building embodies the resilient spirit of New York City.

In keeping with the family spirit of the studio, Lambert & Fils founder and creative director Samuel Lambert took on the interior design of the 1500 sq-feet space with the help of his son. It features sculptural versions of some of their classics and a selection of chosen objects curated by Lambert & Fils.

With valuable support of Brooklyn based interdisciplinary architecture studio re-a.d, the historic space was restored and arranged as a luminous white box (walls, floor and ceiling are all painted white), enhancing focus on the objects. This also allows the building’s architectural features to shine through, like the early 20th-century columns and the three sets of windows overlooking Duane Park. Floor-to-ceiling curtains serve as dividers between the main exhibit area and the meeting rooms while also adding drama and mystery to the space.

In order to celebrate L&F’s upcoming ten- year anniversary, Samuel Lambert wanted to cast a different light on some of their established models. With Atelier, a brand new category of products, they aim to offer sculptural, large-scale and unexpected versions of many beloved collections, such as Laurent, Parc or Beaubien. With Atelier, they venture away from the useful object towards unique showpieces, which greatly impact the atmosphere of a space while highlighting its personality.

I wanted to revisit the vocabulary we had created with each collection, and imagine what new phrases we could come up with, using the same words, says Samuel Lambert. For me, it’s a way to both honour the last ten years and push ourselves further and deeper. Five Atelier models will be unveiled at the Hudson and Duane showroom and will be available as of December 7th, but new ones will be launched periodically.