Winner of the Qazqa Quest 2016 | Michou van Gennep

Mandalight by Michou van Gennep

Remember when I posted about my new Qazqa lamp and asked you to join in or nominate a designer for the Qazqa quest 2016? Have a look here if you missed it and to see the pictures I made at home. Since then a lot of Dutch and international designers have joined the competition and sent in their design.

Some weeks ago I was asked to join the jury and make a choice out of the many entries. Not an easy task as there were so many I liked and also the Qazqa team was unanimous lot of the entries would fit the collection. 

Studio PS

Oriente by Alvaro Diaz Hernandez

Some of my personal favourites were the concrete and glass lamp by Studio PS, and “Oriente” by Alvaro Diaz Hernandez made out of wood painted in black and and coated by hand with black leather cord.

The Mandalight by Michou van Gennep was also among my favourites and actually made it to the final top 5 together with these other finalists: Rik van Mierlo (mushroom & animal lights), Christian Kocx (Bloem Lamp), Guido Ooms (Schizo Lamp), Tjark Prosé (Qazqa Lamp) 



Mandala light by Michou van Gennep


The winner! 
The lucky winner of the Qazqa quest is though the contester I choose as one of my favourites: Michou van Gennep and her ‘Mandalight’. The jury thought the lamp was visually attractive and particularly appreciated the technique she has used which ensures that the lamp can easily change shape.   

This is what Michou herself says on her website about her Mandala lamp design:
“What if you could make a lamp so lightweight that it looks as if it is suspended in the air? This was Michou van Gennip’s ambitious aim, inspired by the ethereal luminescence of Thai floating lanterns and fireflies.

The result is Mandalight. Like a radiant sculpture dotted with tiny brilliant LED lights, this pendant lamp’s adjustable wire structure made of bronze, stainless steel and copper can expand to 1.30 metres or shrink to less than 20 centimetres. “The shape is based on Buddhist Mandala circles,” Van Gennip explains. The entire design weighs only a few kilos at most, although its fine build makes it look virtually weightless.”




When searching for the top 3 all lamps were tested on originality, business and feasibility. The second place was for Guido Ooms, the Schizo Lamp scored highly in all areas and is ready-made lamp ready to sell with an original use of material. Third place was for Rik van Mierlo who joined with two lamps, both entries are rated high and the ‘Mushroom lamp’ was the jury’s favourite.