Bocci is a contemporary design and manufacturing house located in Vancouver, Canada. Their eclectic collection, which can be found in the finest showrooms around the world, has grown to include custom chandeliers, furniture and cutting-edge electrical components. Founded in 2005 under the creative directorship of Omer Arbel in partnership with entrepreneur Randy Bishop, Bocci is committed to fostering an environment for creativity, craft, and experimentation to thrive. Bocci's first lamp, 14, was made in a modified barn in rural British Columbia. Today, they are a team that collectively conjures their ever-growing portfolio of sculptural lighting. Every object is developed, engineered, and fabricated in-house in their factory in Vancouver, using open ended processes that foreground technique and quality.

Bocci | Canadian Sculptural Lighting Since 2005

Bocci manufactures sculptural lighting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with design studio and creative spaces in Berlin, Germany. Omer Arbel and Randy Bishop founded Bocci in 2005 after chance meeting during New York Design Week when Arbel exhibited early prototype of 14 series cast-glass pendant light and Bishop attended candy convention on floor above. Upon returning to Vancouver, the partners launched Bocci beginning production of 14 series.

Bocci Design Method and Creative Philosophy

Bocci operates as design research studio, laboratory, and factory where experimentation, collaboration, and hands-on making inform every object. Creative Director Omer Arbel (born 1976, Jerusalem, relocated to Vancouver age thirteen) trained as architect before co-founding Bocci, bringing multidisciplinary approach spanning materials research, lighting design, building design, and site-specific installations. Arbel developed open-ended method privileging analog processes and traditional skills including glassblowing, concrete forming, and metalwork as ongoing sources of inspiration and innovation. Arbel's designs are numbered in order of creation (14 series, 16 series, 21, 28, 38, 57, 73) reflecting chronological development with gaps between series indicating experiments not achieving commercial viability. Bishop handles business operations while Arbel directs creative development.

Bocci 14 Series and Launch Product

14 series cast-glass pendant light launched Bocci in 2005, becoming design staple and bestseller remaining in production since founding. The series features handmade cast glass globes hanging from coaxial cables in random arrangements creating sculptural lighting installations. Most successful aspects of 14 emerged unintentionally, leading Arbel to define open-ended design method embracing accidents and discoveries during material experimentation. In 2024, Bocci launched 14p portable and rechargeable version of bestselling spherical pendant, adapting iconic design for mobile applications and spaces without fixed electrical infrastructure.

Bocci Series Collections and Technical Innovations

16 Series - Unveiled March 5, 2015 at Vancouver Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel as large outdoor installation. Pendants composed of two halves made by free-pouring three separate layers of hot glass (milk white, transparent grey, clear). Two halves contain flat ring-shaped LED lamp preserving leaf-like appearance. Innovative armature system carries low-voltage charge eliminating interior wiring needs. Stainless steel armature hangs as chandelier or emerges from ground in tree-like configuration. 16 debuted at Euroluce 2015 Milan introducing novel armature system adapted for other Bocci collections. 28 Series - Featured in major installation at Victoria & Albert Museum London 2013 where 280 glass pendants suspended in entrance cascading more than 30 meters down in copper wire tangle. Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) awarded Omer Arbel Allied Arts Medal 2015 based on 28.28 installation at V&A, recognizing outstanding achievement in artwork integrated with architecture. 57 Series - Explores technique similar to closed-cell foam but using molten glass, resulting in irregularly shaped pendants with random interior bubbles invisible until lamp illuminated revealing hidden complexity. 57 premiered at Euroluce 2013 and received Good Design Award from Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Design. Installation of 157 pendants unveiled at Canada House reopening on Trafalgar Square, London, February 19, 2015 by Queen Elizabeth II highlighting central embassy staircase. 73 Series - Previewed at Maison & Objet Paris January 2015. Glass blown into heat-resistant ceramic fabric creating unique shape and texture for each piece. Meant for clustering in groups emphasizing glass cloud effect.

Bocci Large-Scale Installations and Public Art

Bocci participates in large public installations demonstrating sculptural lighting at architectural scale. Victoria & Albert Museum installation 2013 featured 280 of 28 series cascading pendants. Mallett Antiques collaboration 2014 infused entire Dover Street showroom with 28, 38, and 57 series installations. Canada House London reopened February 2015 with 157 of 57 series by Queen Elizabeth II highlighting embassy architecture.

Bocci Manufacturing and Materials Process

Bocci develops, engineers, and fabricates sculptural lighting in-house through infrastructure providing full control over technique, quality, and scale. Team includes metalworkers, glassblowers, chemists, sculptors, designers, architects, and engineers collaborating to explore lighting form, function, and possibility. Production facility in Vancouver handles custom glassblowing and metal fabrication. Berlin office opened November 6, 2015 in historic six-story courthouse in Charlottenburg district featuring glassblowing studio marking first production outside Vancouver. Berlin showroom and living archive features over 40 rooms displaying products alongside experiments and projects outside Bocci catalogue. The space closed 2020 with new permanent exhibition space planned.

Omer Arbel Office (OAO) and Architectural Practice

Arbel launched building design practice OAO in 2005 parallel to Bocci, completing commercial and residential projects primarily in Pacific Northwest. Notable works include 23.2 freestanding house in South Surrey, British Columbia (2010), serving as proof of concept with aslant concrete slab bouquet. 75.9 house (completed 2023) investigates fabric-formed concrete possibilities with huge tree-like piers using rough burlap grain molds as planters for actual trees above, subsuming structure into rural landscape. Arbel designed 2010 Olympic medals in collaboration with Aboriginal artist Corrine Hunt. Original submission 27.3 included magnets holding medals together concealing cavity for athlete mementos and onsite sound engraving of last ten minutes before medal event.

Bocci Product Portfolio

Portfolio includes ambient lighting families (14, 16, 21, 28, 38, 57, 73 series), design objects (19, 25 series), and electrical accessories collection (22 series). Lighting applications span suspension, floor, wall, ceiling, and table lamps with designs emerging through experimentation and deep respect for material properties. Bocci® is a trademark | Canadian sculptural lighting available in Houston through CAM Studio.