This year marked 30 years of architectural lighting manufacture for Kemps. It also saw a wide range of projects pass through our factory floor. From antique restoration projects to supplying products for overseas projects, including in Dubai, and even projects on the seas for a cruise ship.
Receiving a varied supply of briefs is one of the most exciting parts of working with lighting designers, architects and specifiers from across the world. You never know what intricate design or large order we’ll be challenged on next and that’s what keeps our team ahead of the game.
We caught up with Managing Director, Mark Kemp, to look back over the past year and discuss some of the exciting projects upcoming for 2020:
What are your highlights from this year?
The chandelier restoration at Leeds Town Hall was a hugely rewarding project to complete. It was a privilege to work on a historic local landmark and the results were stunning.
We’ve supplied lighting for several high profile commercial projects, including the Darc award-nominated Deloitte HQ, Wood Wharfe at Canary Wharf and Bank Street, London.
Following in our long tradition of supplying luxury lighting schemes for hospitality venues, we supplied 1km of Azuna for a SAGA cruise ship and we’re currently supplying 700m of Mersus for a Royal Villa in Dubai. In Europe, we completed bespoke projects in Bordeaux and Paris.
Launching Alphaeus 3 – the new and improved version of our popular linear LED fixture – was also a highlight. It was great to see our hard work pay off and receive such a positive response from our clients.
Kemps also celebrated 30 years in business. Read more about this and watch the video we created to mark the occasion in our blog ‘Celebrating 30 years as a world-class British lighting manufacturer’
Can you tell us about any exciting projects lined up for 2020?
Towards the end of this year, we secured an order for over 21km of linear LED for the Ritz Carlton, Amman. We’re really excited to get stuck into this project, which will involve a huge amount of planning, but the results should be incredible.
We also have projects lined up for a luxury Knightsbridge building façade, Kings Cross office, Nomad Hotel, the Glasgow Transport Museum and a commercial project closer to home on Greek Street, Leeds. Plus, there are many others we can’t talk about just yet… watch this space!
Are there any new products in development for next year?
The team at Kemps are always looking for new products to bring to our clients, be that something totally fresh or an iteration of a classic. In the pipeline so far is an addition to the linear LED family – Figaro 60 – which can be suspended, recessed and surface mounted for commercial buildings.
We’ve made plans to release the second generation of Fortis, the sleek façade and under seating linear LED. But, as always, we take inspiration from the bespoke projects and briefs we work on and there’s always room for a new product design to come about organically as the year progresses.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… ❄️🌨️ pic.twitter.com/DiY6Piqqaj
— Kemps Lighting (@kempslightingUK) December 10, 2019
How is the Kemps team celebrating the festive break?
We celebrated the end of another successful year last Friday with some drinks and Thai food at Chaophraya in Leeds. Everyone is looking forward to the festive break and we’ll be closing from 23rd December to 2nd January. We’re looking forward to 2020 and wish you every success in your ventures!
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