Serge Mouille Handcrafting an Iconic Mid-Century Design  

5 years ago I started a journey to recreate and handcraft Serge Mouille's iconic French lights. Since then I’ve learnt many metalworking skills, I’ve amassed a workshop full of tools and slowly drove my wife mad as the house became a showroom for Serge Mouille’s Lights.

My interest in Serge Mouille's lights began when I moved into a new house and went online to buy a light his. I had long admired an original Mouille light a relative once owned and after some research I settled on the two arm wall light. But when the large box arrived my initial enthusiasm quickly faded, for the steep price the light cost it was very simplified and missing many small details that made the original design so iconic. The bulb socket was plastic instead of brass, the rear nipple of the shades were short and less elongated, the brass knuckles too round and missing the grub locking screw and with what felt like a powder coated finish it seemed to me that accuracy and details had been sacrificed for ease of production. I knew I could never afford an original $20k+ 1950s lamp, so became determined on researching and learning the skills to handcraft my own.

My aim was to recreate the lights staying faithful to Serge Mouile’s original composition. A career as an architect helped me decipher Serge Mouille’s old shop drawings and template from the original light. Through a great deal of research and with knowledge and guidance from a retired metalsmith who lived in my area I discovered and developed many techniques to recreate the lamps. Serge Mouille never bowed to pressure to mass produce, handcrafting each one of his original lamps and I feel my craft pays respect to his original philosophy.

The experience has been both challenging, rewarding and 5 years later I still love handcrafting each light. 

More detailed images can be found at www.arcmoderne.com

Kind regards,

Greg.