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“A chance to rebuild our characters, to become new people” seems a grand premise for the start of a furniture business. But such was the case for brothers Navid and Sahand Gholipour who, in 2005, moved to Cyprus from their home in Rasht, Iran, joining their father, a political exile. Navid was 23, Sahand 17. Woodwork became the foundation of a process of starting from scratch in a new place.
The brothers were working, respectively, as a graphic designer and an electrician in Limassol when they began carving wood as a hobby. Their shared skillset resulted in a series of lights, bringing together memories of the Islamic architecture they grew up with — “the beautiful tiles and motifs, the shapes of mosques”, says Navid — with their enthusiasm for Scandinavian simplicity. They launched their design studio from their garage in 2010 and called it Lovenlight — “lights made with love”.
Their remit soon expanded beyond lights, however, and the duo became known for their strikingly original wooden designs; sought out for all manner of bespoke commissions, from chairs and desks to bookshelves and beds. “From the beginning, we looked upon every commission as somebody sponsoring us to learn,” says Navid.
The art of reimagining and reinventing is key to their practice. A dining table commissioned by Katerina Savvides, founder of the Memeraki Artist Residency in Limassol’s old town, has a “tabletop crafted from reclaimed wood taken from a giant oak wine barrel — we preserved the arc shapes, incorporated a brass inlay on the top, and used turned mahogany for the base and legs,” says Navid. More recently, for a local interior design business, they have made a collection including side tables with two legs like downturned clubs and a long wooden bench with two feet like spinning tops. Their furniture can now be found in the Cypriot embassy in Argentina, and the landmark 22-storey Labs Tower, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia.
They use hardwood for its stability and strength. Navid’s favourite is white oak — “you can marry it with anything”, he says of combinations that have included walnut, mahogany and wenge wood. Walnut in particular is “assertive”, he says. The Hyo table, inspired by traditional Japanese torii gates that are found at the entrance to Shinto shrines, has a top made from white oak, framed by a hand-sculpted square margin of dark walnut.
Their designs have gradually grown more daring, encompassing unexpected angles, lines and quirky details. Desque pairs an elegantly proportioned top with playfully turned legs — the front pair boldly more bulbous than the back. The curvy Console is carved with inbuilt bowls — sculptural repositories for keys or keepsakes.
“For every line I’m drawing, there is a voice in the back of my mind asking: ‘How are you going to make it?’” says Sahand. The physical work itself is inspiring: “When you begin to turn wood, seeing the shapes on the lathe, the craft gives you ideas.”
Many pieces evoke nature. The Pelikan lamps make shades of dried and hollowed gourds, perched upon copper and wood bases, while one chair suggests a four-legged creature about to spring into action. They have also made a series of playful objects — from spinning tops in myriad sizes to a chess table.
Now Navid and Sahand are sharing their skills with a new generation; they recently took on their first apprentice, Natali Touloupou, for a seven-month fellowship. One collaboration includes an intricate exotic wood cabinet, launched at Milan Design Week this year, that features patterned inlays inspired by 600BC Cypriot ceramics — a homage to their adopted homeland.
Every piece feels significant, say the brothers: “Being trusted to work with honest materials, to follow our instincts, and to create something that feels meaningful, both for us and for the person we’re making it for.”
Chairs from €1,300; tables from €3,800; lead time eight-16 weeks; lovenlight.eu
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