In Tromsø the light goes quickly in autumn. By late October the sun stays low all day, and by the end of November it does not rise at all. The polar night lasts until the middle of January, and the town learns again how to live by lamplight.
It is the season the workshop was built for. Most of our lamps were designed between October and February, in rooms lit only by what we were making, and you can see it in them: low shades, warm bulbs, light that sits close to the table rather than filling the room.
The first evening
There is always one evening, usually early in September, when you notice that every lamp in the house is on before dinner. After that the routine changes. Candles come out for the table, the ceiling light stays off, and the reading chair moves a little closer to the floor lamp.
We do not think of the dark months as something to get through. They are quiet, and beautiful in their own way: snow reflecting blue light at noon, windows glowing amber across the water at three in the afternoon. A lamp in a window is the oldest way of saying someone is home.
What we keep lit
In the workshop we keep one lamp on in the window all winter, a Linen Floor Lamp at its lowest setting, from early afternoon until we lock up. Neighbours tell us they use it to know we are open. It seems like the right job for a lamp.
