Design
Christopher Boots
Crystal Pythagoras Twin Sconce, comes in three sizes.
The design for the Pythagoras sconce was inspired by the great mathematician and philosopher of the same name. Pythagoras believed that behind all beauty there is a mathematical equation that governs it.
Image courtesy of: Coup D’Etat
Established on 11-11-11, there is no doubt that Christopher Boots Studio was founded, to some degree, on the basis of mathematics and science. The studio centers its ethos on the exploration of quartz crystal…exploring the relationship between symbolism, architecture, and geometry as it is found in nature.
The pieces are all handmade by a diverse team of skilled artisans. Furthermore, collaborations with glass blowers, ceramicists, bronze casters, coppersmiths, and sculptors ensure that the high level of commitment to quality never gets “lost in translation.”
Goliath Pendant
This piece pays homage to the allegory of David and Goliath where Goliath uses only his wits and a stone to triumph over the giant. The Oblique Rhombic Prism is encrusted with a mass of clear and smoky quartz crystals.
Image courtesy of: Christopher Boots
Over the past decade, the team has grown to include twenty skilled artisans who prototype, design, and build all their pieces in the Melbourne studio. The team places an importance on honoring proportion and scale, and seamlessly using traditional and cutting edge materials in order to create unexpected yet striking results.
Prometheus IV at the home of the designer Nickolas Gurtler.
The majority of Boots pieces are made from brass with clear, smoky, and Rose Quartz crystals.
Image courtesy of: est living
Boots affinity to stones began when he spent time in Brazil where that material is abundant. The designer claims that he loves both the physical and metaphysical properties of quartz. At home, Boots is surrounded by, he says, hundreds of kilos of rocks.
Courtesy of est living, Boots says, “Desks, tables, window sills, floors covered in a colourful, textural spectrum of rocks; obsidian, fluorite, pyrite, smokey quartz, rose quartz, intense azurite and pyrite, to name a few. Reminders in our daily spaces are a source of inspiration and grounding, and my aesthetic is directly influenced by these elemental crystalline structures and their innate stories of transparency, opacity, colour, geography, and time: all evidence of the physical world we’re intrinsically part of.”
New material for a new project.
One example of a commissioned piece was a 400-pound smoky and clear quartz crystal encrusted chandelier. The Beverly Hills client wanted to suspend this from a skylight which involved a large amount of engineering work to ensure that the weight requirements were adequately met.
Image courtesy of: Cultured Magazine, photographed by: Guy Lavoipierrer
The studio’s biggest market is the United States and this is where James L. Marshall, the company’s Director of North American Operations, proves vital. Marshall is the intermediary between the studio and the client; his task is to ensure that the client’s vision is realized.
The multi-step process begins with a site visit to ascertain where the light will be placed and to narrow down which crystal will be the best fit. Once that is decided, Boots sketches the piece based on Marshall’s feedback. When that is approved by the client, the design team begins their magic. Upon completion, Marshall steps in again as Project Manager…he delivers the light and ensures that it is properly placed, both technically and aesthetically.
Christopher Boots in his Melbourne studio.
Image courtesy of: est living
For Boots, light is important because he believes it affects the intangible quality of perception. The designer hopes that his pieces also invoke emotional qualities such as warmth, comfort, and serenity.
Recalling two projects, each featuring a different Prometheus chandelier, he says (courtesy of an interview conducted by Aleesha Callahan), “Both pieces use identical materials and technologies, yet the direction and placement offer differing perceptions of fire and warmth; elements that have always drawn people to gather together, to huddle against the cold, to join the campfires. This is where we collectively come from, and this ancient need for connection will always remain an archetypal human need. We’ve just created a fire more suited to our times.”
We are so lucky that Boots continues to create a timeless design that is interwoven with his forward-thinking attitude. There’s no telling what he will dream up next!
