Marset was born in the forties as a metal foundry, but its incursion into the lighting sector came a little later, when Paco Marset, its founder, realised that if he added electric components to the metal fish, he would increase the value of his products.
This "illumination" will motivate him to manufacture chandeliers of fossil fibreglass, the first pieces of lighting that the company designed. During the seventies and with the incorporation of his two sons, the company specialised in traditional lighting, but it was not until the nineteen-nineties that Marset took a step forward by incorporating design as a basic element in its commercial strategy. Today, this family business is an international benchmark in the lighting sector.
We visit the showroom (recently opened) and meet Xavier, the third generation of Marset, who brings light to the Catalan business inherited from his father. Xavier says that the company's success lies in its ability to capture the creativity and essence of design in products that blend into their surroundings without making a big splash. For Marset, lighting design has to facilitate the coexistence of decorative objects and, in short, it has to allow people and spaces to live together in the most harmonious way possible.
He confesses that the most important thing about a design, and the most difficult at the same time, is to make a product become timeless and that over time it becomes a classic: "Accurate and well-made design ensures that a product continues to be as interesting and innovative as the first day". Under this premise he works together with the designer Joan Gaspar and a product committee to decide which pieces will make up a collection of lights signed by renowned authors in industrial and lighting design.
Has everything been invented in lighting? Xavier thinks not, as the sector refuses to stagnate, and explains that the current challenges revolve around energy efficiency and new sources of light, such as LEDs. Even so, he reminds us that we cannot forget about design, the aesthetics of the product and the care of materials, three pillars that Marset follows to the letter.
Marset was born in the forties as a metal foundry, but its incursion into the lighting sector came a little later, when Paco Marset, its founder, realised that if he added electric components to the metal pieces, he would increase the value of his products. We visit the Marcet showroom and meet Xavier, the third generation!
