These gorgeous leather lighting rigs are modern-day classics

“I knew when I was a child, like 5 years old, I knew I wanted to make beautiful things,” says Helena Bian, founder and CEO of lighting company Harlowe, though it took some time to find her path.

After school, Bian became a mechanical and electrical engineer, cutting her teeth at hardware companies like Dewalt, where she learned that the industry was dominated by men who didn’t necessarily share her vision of creating beautiful things, and who would rather just focus on function. She daydreamed about making both until she founded Harlowe, a company that arguably makes some of the most beautiful gadgets you can find today. 

Bian had an idea for high-design photography and video lighting equipment that’s both portable and functional. Noticing how creators are constantly on the go, ferrying huge suitcases with lighting equipment inside, Bian saw a need for gear that is small and easy to pack and travel with, which led her to prioritize portability in Harlowe’s design philosophy.

But portability alone wasn’t enough—she needed an aesthetic that would attract those creators, so that her designs could become not only tools for work but also objects of lust. Today there are plenty of professional lighting products that are good and relatively inexpensive, but they all have the same bland, standard look, made of metal, plastic, and LEDs, usually all painted matte black. For Bian, however, functional doesn’t mean bland or ugly, and, she says, “beautiful doesn’t mean expensive.” 

To be clear, Harlowe’s products are on the pricey side compared to the stuff you can buy from Amazon or AliExpress, but Bian says that they are made to last forever, using metal and leather, with precise manufacturing techniques. She expects her designs to last, just like old Leica or Hasselblad cameras have stayed alive for decades.

The process

Harlowe’s in-house design process is led by Bian, who takes inspiration from vintage cameras. “I want to make sure [our products are] not just something they buy for work but also something they buy because they love,” Bian tells me, noting that she’s observed creators who keep old photo gear around almost like their spirit animals. Even if they’re no longer used for production, she says these items are kept because they’re beautiful, and “because they are something [people] cherish in their heart.”

Bian’s designs begin with hand-drawn sketches, from which her team creates 3D models and engineers the guts of the devices until they match her original vision. 

The selection of materials is carefully considered to add to an emotional connection with users, mixing aluminum, steel, and leather to provide a full sensory experience for anyone who sees, touches, and smells them. 

Everything is done in-house, including the production itself, with backing from parent company AES Lighting Solutions, a Chinese work lighting corporation with 20 years in the industry.

In the end, Bian’s vision is all about maintaining the human connection in Harlowe’s products—leveraging technology to improve functionality. It’s a carefully orchestrated mechanism that combines art, human instinct, and science to create a product that’s as beautiful as it is durable and functional.

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