Designer Lars Bessfelt

Lars Bessfelt is a designer from Skåne who, for six decades, has uncompromisingly strived to combine aesthetics with function and care for the environment.

Lars started drawing lamps when he was 14 years old. His father, Gösta, was a salesman and enlisted the help of his son when he wanted to expand his catalog with more and more modern lamp models. Lars was still a teenager when, in the early 1960s, he created his first truly successful model, the Pinnlampan. The lamp became very popular, especially in northern Sweden. It was made of pine and had patterned fabric, attached with Velcro so that it could be easily removed and washed. The pinnlampan was then plagiarized by many well-established companies.

In 1970, Lars participated in a lighting competition at the lighting fair in Gothenburg with two lamp models and won awards for both. First prize in the Bedside Lamps category with the Blenda model and first prize in the Reading and Work Lighting category with the Halta Lotta luminaire.

At the 1972 lighting fair, Lars showed off the Lightbox, a fixture with a slider in the lamp shade. The function allowed for variable dimming of the light source and colored light. A little later came the Grevie and Torup lamp series, which were made of bentwood for Atejé Lyktan.

In the late 1970s, Lars moved with his family to the village of Anderslöv in Skåne, along the highway between Malmö and Ystad. In 1981, Lars, together with his wife Lisa, started the company Ateljén in Anderslöv.

In 1984, the Triggy lamp was launched for Ateljé Lyktan. Triggy was designed by Lars in collaboration with the ceramist and Anderslöv resident Christian von Sydow. Triggy was produced as a table and floor lamp and had a flat fabric shade.
In 1986, Hockey was launched, also with a flat screen and equipped with compact fluorescent lamps.

During the late 80s and early 90s, the Cleo, Bombus, Hanö, Slits and Birka luminaires were designed for Ateljé Lyktan.
For many years, the studio in Anderslöv manufactured lampshades for Ateljé Lyktan and Svenskt Tenn.

In 1994, Lars started his own brand ZLAMP®, where he both designed the luminaires and managed the manufacturing at home in Anderslöv. The idea was to be able to choose materials and methods down to the smallest detail that guaranteed quality, good light and care for the environment. The following year, the new collection was shown at the furniture fair and had a great impact with its unique form expression and pleasant light pattern.