Frero’s Tala Asa Light Objects Don’t Shy Away From the Shadows

Two brothers, Alex and Henri, grew up in Antwerp, Belgium, surrounded by beauty and creativity that developed into a shared passion for art and design. Inspired by the success that their parents experienced in the interior design and vintage furniture industries, the duo decided to make a leap of their own. Frero is their brand, which puts their unique vision and individual strengths toward the same goal. Alex brings the creative vision to the table, while Henri provides the commercial expertise to realize those ideas.

Frero’s first collection, Tala Asa, is a series of five light sculptures brought to life with the help of reused stone and minerals bonded using a resin and finished with plaster paint. Inspired by the earth itself, each design uses light elements to focus on the shadow play of each lamp’s negative space. Handmade in their North Carolina design studio, each piece allows the materials to guide the process of their own creation, taking on shapes and forms that are truly unique. Five naturally occurring colors are available to choose from: Bone, Sienna, Oliva, Terra, and Lava.

Suma is simple yet elegant, with a silhouette informed by geology. The design was created to blend in with a variety of surroundings, making this lamp one of the most versatile in the Tala Asa collection.

Suma

Suma

Suma

Fuca

Each lighting object within Tala Asa is an art object on its own, as is the Fuca lamp. Designed in Antwerp and handcrafted in North Carolina, this object celebrates squareness through more play with light.

Fuca

Fuca

Fuca

Fuca

Anta

The three openings on each side of the Anta lamp symbolize their family bond. It also represents the unity, creativity, and individuality it takes to work with one another to bring a project larger than any one of them together.

Anta

Anta

Anta

Sunda

Perhaps the most sophisticated lamp of the collection, Sunda is a statuesque design borrowing from the structure of tectonic plates. More specifically, “an oblique subduction transition zone” that’s located between the Australian Plate and the Southeast Asian Plate.

Sunda

Coco

Coco’s design is focused on capturing a natural equilibrium between the visually stacked elements of the lamp. Frero gave it the name “Coco” for the repetitive enunciation of the syllables, resembling its balanced silhouette.

Coco

To learn more about the Tala Asa collection, visit frerocollective.com.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she’s likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.