Is it too early to do a preview of our Salone preview?

Technically part of Tom Dixon’s signature release at Salone (which is only three weeks away), the POSE collection of portable lighting catches our fancy—not only because the gold-plated gem above perfectly jibes with our metallic theme, but also because these curious conical creatures are, to quote 80s rocker Robert Palmer, “simply irresistible.”

Looking at the assortment of clearly sentient beings above—descending the stairs and scanning the environs with an eclectic, electric intelligence—one is prompted to conjecture, “how does he do it?”

Yes, the one-and-only Dixon (and let’s not forget the cadre of hard-working accomplices peopling The Factory) has a knack for making inert objects come to inspired, interrogatory life. This is certainly the case with POSE, whose conical bodies and matching heads will not only light up your life, but will do so while seeming to peer into cabinets, at books, over the shoulders of unsuspecting readers.

This would all be a little creepy if they weren’t so darn cute. Pose offers the ethos of a genial alien a la the Bugs Bunny cartoons or the mischievous lemur from the recent Oscan-winner Flow.

There’s a technical innovation/inspiration at play here as well. Pose is modeled on the optics of the utilitarian lighthouse lens: “Also seen in traffic lights and in scientific instruments, [the flat lens] of POSE manipulates light into focused, magnified beams while conveying an anthropomorphic charm.”

Guess you’ll have to watch out for POSE both above and below! Check it out at Salone, April 8-13, along with companion releases of new Dixon lighting WHIRL and SOFT.

Read more at Tom Dixon.