Michelle Lao: Lighting the Ideal Workspace

Michelle Lao’s Solano Lamps have soared through high-class homes over time and are famous for the designs that result from a mind bubbling with experimentalism and an authentic need to insert one’s artistic values into all kinds of objects.  

There is no secret sauce or profound nature to how I design them.” Lao reveals, “Because I see lamps in almost everything, I naturally take inspiration from shapes, color, texture, even words or just about anything I see, touch, and feel.” 

As an artist who takes her roots from the fashion world, Lao’s best friend is a stream of natural light. “Designing lamps involves a lot of parts — base, fabric, shade, harp, finial — all of which are significant contributors to the beautiful mess I like to call my ‘ideal’ pandemic workspace. Because I work with color a lot, a corner where I get a lot of natural light is desirable.”

Lao’s experimental style with her lamps also bleeds into her taste in interior design in a subtle way. Aside from having a space that allows in as much natural light as possible, Lao’s interior design taste is one that brings a splash of color into the space she has repeatedly seen since the pandemic’s lockdown effect. 

“I will be the first to say that I am, by any stretch of the imagination, no authority when it comes to interior design.” Lao says, “As most people know my roots are in fashion. That said, I very much like to create spaces that are multidimensional and rich in composition. Being able to balance materials that afford luxury and lend humility is core to my design values.” 

To learn more about Michelle Lao’s creative space, click on the link to BluPrint’s latest e-mag issue.