Phaino Lighting began with a moment of clarity — an epiphany, fittingly, given that phaino is the Greek root found in the word “epiphany.” In 2004, after leaving a project management role in the contracting industry, I joined a small HID lamp manufacturer in Mentor, Ohio — five years before LED lighting would become viable for general use. That chapter sparked something: a fascination with lighting as a bridge between art, design, and emerging technology. As LED technology advanced and became the standard, fixture design across the industry grew increasingly uniform. Decorative lighting lost many of the sculptural qualities and expressive details that once gave designers the freedom to explore new ideas. Historically, creating a fixture meant sketching forms by hand, sculpting them in clay, and casting them in metal — a process that produced the ornate works of the art nouveau and art deco eras. Later, the mid-century shift toward spinning, stamping, and forging allowed for mass production, but at the cost of the craftsmanship that once defined the field. In 2017, while hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain with my wife and youngest daughter, we began discussing how exciting it would be to bring some of that artistry back — to reintroduce sculptural detail and craftsmanship into modern lighting, but with today’s LED performance and control capabilities. That conversation became the seed for Phaino Lighting. Today, we sculpt and cast as many of our internal components as possible, bringing together old-world craftsmanship and modern technology. We design with intention, create with respect for the craft, and remain inspired by the idea that lighting should be both functional and beautiful. We hope you enjoy the results — and that our fixtures bring a sense of artistry, warmth, and discovery to every space they illuminate.