Italian lighting manufacturer Fabbian apparently has no compunctions about giving the world the hard sell—their “corporate presentation” sums up their achievements in the industry thusly: “46 years of research, 90 technicians, 6000 square meters plant, 120 agents, 1800 customers, 220,000 fixtures sold yearly, 450 fixtures to design the light and the space.” This last observation says it all, for the grace of the space is for naught if it be poorly illumined.

Riccio. Manufactured by Fabbian.

Fabbian—industry giant for half a century and purveyors of innovations in hanging lamps, wall mounts, flush mounts, recessed lighting, ambience lighting, up-down schemes, and commercial projects—has made it their central concern to show good design in the best light. The roster of pieces and projects runs long and deep, since Fabbian (and their 450+ fixtures) engages lighting from all angles. The result is a portfolio for every taste and every need. On the streamlined, ultra-modern side of the spectrum lies the Sospesa D42 square suspension fixture. Available in two or four light models, the D42 features a crystal clear transparent flat glass diffuser in a polished metal casing. Somewhat in the Bauhausian vein, the fixture’s structure is on display in the form of visible circuitry threaded through channels carved in the glass. Designed for ambient lighting, Sospesa also works well to highlight featured surfaces such as bars or kitchen islands.

Sospesa D42. Manufactured by Fabbian.

Sospesa D42. Manufactured by Fabbian.N

Cubetto D28 Wall Mount fixture. Manufactured by Fabbian.

In the retro vein, the Cubetto D28 Wall Mount fixture evokes more of a 50s film noir vibe. I could see it in the heavily-shadowed crannies of one of Bogart’s shabbily chic offices or flop-houses, in which the best thing about the décor is its innuendo, its very absence of illumination. But in all truth the polished chrome frame and crystal diffusers in black, white, or clear produce a bright ambient light to banish the black from “noir.”

Then there’s Riccio. Made of rotation-molded polyethylene studded with tiny glass ports and illumined from within, Riccio is as versatile as it is multi-dimensional. Resembling (in no particular order) a bioluminescent beetle, an oblong disco ball, and the head-dress of some futuristic proto-royal, Riccio works for galas and soirees of every stripe, for restaurants or clubs, even for the odd-ball whims within the more modest spaces that some of us like to call home.