We believe that being surrounded by beauty is vital to our well being and that nature’s spectacle is an ideal source of artistic inspiration. We aim to create beautiful objects that respect our planet by using upcycled materials and the latest low energy LED technologies. We thus hope that generations to come can continue to admire nature’s beauty.
Our team members are artists, environmentalists and light engineers.
About us
Claudine Gévry (Artist & Co-Founder)
Claudine is what one would call a classic “Renaissance" artist in the sense that she likes to experiment with many mediums and is always looking to learning new techniques to expand her artistic vocabulary. Juggling between painting, sculptures, and illustrations, each discipline informs her mastery of the others and this cross-pollination of techniques always leaves her with plenty of ideas to explore.
She spent most of her life immersed in Montréal's rich artistic and cultural diversity. It was there that she studied Fine Arts at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal and Graphic Design at the Université du Québec à Montréal, both institutions known for their eclectic and bohemian artistic tendencies.
Claudine's art is abstract and whimsical, nature being her primary guide. She is deeply influenced by her surroundings and her work is a reflection of impressions that the environment instills upon her.
Jean Gélinas (Environmentalist, R&D - Co-Founder)
The years Jean spent traveling across Africa, South America, South East Asia, and sailing around the Atlantic have helped him develop a deep consciousness of our fragile planet's limited resources and sparked his passion for sustainability.
“Living on a sailboat for a few years forces you to appreciate energy efficiency. When you’re miles away from shore and the energy supply is constrained, every watt counts. It’s surprising how well we can live with significantly less energy”, says Jean.
His passion for art and elegant minimalist technology helped give birth to umbra & lux. He tries seeing the forest for the trees, working with our engineers to find creative ways to make the best products possible.
Hariomsinh Bhati (Head of R&D - Partner)
Claudine & Jean had the good fortune of meeting Hariomsinh, a creative and passionate electronics engineer. As a child, Hari would ask his parents for toys only to take them apart to see how they worked. His inquisitive mind has always been drawn towards the technical mechanical side of things. Hari brings a very wide range of technical skills and an insatiable desire to improve our designs.
Some wonder if he ever turns out the lights and actually sleeps!
Collaborators
FELT à la main with LOVE by CCard (Felt Artist)
When CCard discovered the ancient art of felting, she found a medium that would always keep her busy. By painting, draping, sculpting and massaging the mostly wool fibres she repeatedly falls in love with nature's renewable gift. While felting, she plays with textures and 3-dimensional possibilities. CCard enjoys the magic of the process; using wool, water, and agitation to bind into a new material. It's a labour intensive process, that allows time to reflect and to transfer the energy from her hands to the whimsical artifacts she sculpts.
CCard is the artist behind our Fluffy Clouds collection.