Brooklyn Studio In Common With Expands Horizons With Venetian Glass Collaboration

With its new Lido Series of Murano glass lighting made in collaboration with Venetian glass atelier Laguna~B, Nick Ozemba and Felicia Hung have their eye on building a complete home catalog.​With its new Lido Series of Murano glass lighting made in collaboration with Venetian glass atelier Laguna~B, Nick Ozemba and Felicia Hung have their eye on building a complete home catalog. 

MILAN — New York design studio In Common With, known for its inventive lighting, has branched out into the world of Venetian glass.

On Wednesday, the company founded by Nick Ozemba and Felicia Hung said they teamed up with Venetian atelier Laguna~B for a series of four lighting designs, which includes contemporary sconces, flush mounts, and a chandelier named the Cosmos, a modular piece made with metal suspension and orbs.

With this new Lido Series, In Common With capitalized on the partnership and created its first glassware offering: two distinct drinking glasses. It’s a key stop on the studio’s long-term path to build “a whole home catalogue,” Ozemba told WWD.

Limited-edition Lido Series pieces will be available globally online and at Quarters, the studio’s hospitality and retail space located in TriBeCa. Laguna~B was founded in 1994 by the late designer Marie Brandolini, revered for her modern designs that incorporated centuries-old techniques. The atelier is now being pioneered by her son Marcantonio Brandolini.

“As designers, we try to translate these techniques in a way that makes them usable in a contemporary context, while also expanding how people understand their value, seeing irregularity and material behavior as part of the design rather than something to be corrected,” Ozemba told WWD.

The introduction of the Lido Series marks the beginning of an ongoing partnership with Laguna~B. Future iterations will continue to build on this collaboration, expanding into tabletop and decorative objects.

The collection is distinguished by the use of two antique Murano techniques: goti de fornasa, which incorporates scraps of leftover glass. The second, murrine, is made with a mosaic technique.

In Common With was founded in 2018 and creates lighting and objects through partnerships with specialized ateliers around the world.

Quarters is key to growth and expansion into new territories, as a “testing ground” for interaction between new products and their core lighting designs, Ozemba explained.

“Lighting established a kind of grammar for us, and we’re beginning to apply that language across different scales, where a table or a vessel can carry the same sensibility as a lamp. We’re also thinking carefully about how to create more entry points into the brand, products that maintain the same rigor in design and production, but feel more accessible in terms of everyday use and price,” he said.

Today, Venice is alive with relatively new firms and names seeking to contemporize Venetian glass. Barovier&Toso, the Murano glass lighting company founded in 1295, has undergone a reboot by its art director, designer Luca Nichetto, who enlisted a roster of international designers to create forward-looking products. In the same vein, 6:AM also seeks to redefine Venetian glass art with new systems and panels that create striking architectural installations.