”I truly enjoy turning sketches into wooden prototypes with my own hands. Finding a concrete solution to implementing a detail after persistent experimenting is a fascinating moment!” The founder of Secto Design, Tuula Jusélius and designer Seppo Koho first met in 1995. From the very first time they met they knew they were kindred spirits; they both shared a respect for Northern wood as well as for Scandinavian clear design and professional woodworking. Tuula Jusélius and Seppo Koho started collaborating on innovative wooden furniture. The furniture was a success but there was a puzzle that the customers were left with: no wooden lamps were on the market that would go together with the furniture. Inspired by this the conical Secto 4200 pendant was born and it became the backbone of the whole Secto Design collection of wooden lamps. The collaboration withstood the waves of trends and tests of time. “Seppo has had plenty of new ideas—enough to keep us busy,” says Jusélius. The company admits that it doesn’t follow trends. Instead, it aims at creating classics; design icons to cherish and keep for a lifetime. When it comes to a bestseller, Jusélius doesn’t need time to think. “It has to be Octo,” she replies immediately and launches into a story about working at her summer cottage. She had placed the first Octo shade on top of her sofa table, whilst she was working elsewhere in the same room. “Whenever I was taking a small break from writing to think, my gaze would automatically be drawn to the lamp,” she explains. Koho’s philosophy has always been that a light must never shine directly into your eyes—quite the opposite, it should be soft and gentle, instead of hard and rigid. The soothing light, as well as the slightly oval shape of the shade provided a much-needed meditative mood, just the right one for concentrating. “I guess that’s the secret of our shades,” ponders Jusélius, “they are like magnets built of harmony.” Secto lamps are special because of the atmosphere that they create. A balance between an object and a mood, they turn rooms into welcoming spaces. “For Seppo, lamps are never just lamps. He is an architect, so he thinks like one. It is a special way of approaching design.” Each lamp shade that he sketches has a similar spatiality; the shades are a space within a space. They look like cocoons of comfort but still stand out due to their presence. The bent birch shades command attention, yet blend in, like true design chameleons.