Innermost’s Steve Jones says lighting is about to get a lot more intuitive

How did Innermost come about? “Russell [Cameron] and I met in 1994 while we were work­ing in London and the idea today is pretty much unchanged from what we had then. In London, we met a ton of young designers who had amazing products but didn’t have production [capability]. We decided that if we grouped some of those talents together, we could build an interesting range. We were looking for new concepts, anything that had an air of innovation to it. Over the years we honed that down and decided our specialisation would be lighting.”

Do all the ideas still come out of London? “That’s the thing that changed. All comers are welcome, and now our designers are from all over the world – America, Finland, Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Hong Kong. It’s a very international offering, designing mainly for hospitality and residential. Furniture still accounts for 15 per cent of our business, and it’s growing, but lighting is the story of the moment.”

How would you describe the DNA of your lighting? “Focusing on innovation, we’re looking for something that will appeal to architects and designers. We like witty ideas, to create a story, [making] something that makes people smile. The YOYWall is a great point – it’s a light that projects its own lampshade. We met its two young Japanese designers at their booth at SaloneSatellite, in Milan, showing a prototype, and it was mobbed. Their designs were all based around optical illusion. That kind of playful nature appeals to us.”