For more than 60 years, Venice-based lighting brand LEUCOS has illuminated the potential of Murano glassmaking, moving beyond the traditional binaries of contemporary design and manufacturing.
At its core, CEO Abramo Manfrotto continues this legacy by focusing on production-led innovation, elevating both the decorative and atmospheric qualities of the brand’s lighting.
In conversation with est living managing director Miffy Coady, Manfrotto reflects on the fast-moving design landscape, customisation, creating with the ‘leftovers’ and the motivation he finds in nurturing originality.
LEUCOS has deep roots in Venetian glassmaking. How do you honour this artisanal heritage while ensuring the brand continues to evolve for a contemporary audience?
Abramo Manfrotto: Honouring the artisanal Venetian heritage is very important to me. Ninety per cent of what we sell is sourced within 30km of our factory—glass, aluminium, treatments, everything is local. We continue using traditional, handmade Murano glassmaking techniques, but we also incorporate modern treatments and technologies, including 3D printing with wood and metal. We blend craftsmanship with contemporary design and performance standards.
You often speak about creating lighting that transcends trends. What does “timeless design” mean to you, and how does LEUCOS achieve it in today’s fast-moving design landscape?
Abramo Manfrotto: Timelessness comes from respecting form, craftsmanship and quality while subtly evolving details. We preserve the original proportions and key elements of historical designs. The shape remains consistent, but we introduce fun in colour and materials.
What matters is the object’s emotional quality and the light it creates. For us, lighting isn’t just functional; it creates atmosphere and presence. That emotional aspect is what allows a design to last beyond trends.
LEUCOS is known for combining traditional glassblowing techniques with advanced technologies. Can you share how this dialogue between craft and innovation shapes your latest collections?
Abramo Manfrotto: No two glass pieces are ever the same. Everything depends on the hand of the master glassblower—how much air is blown, when the glass is dipped, and how it cools. Even pieces made from the same mould will always be slightly different.
We use borosilicate tubes hand-shaped—they’re lighter and stronger than hand-blown glass. We also apply different finishes—painting, PVD metallisation, mirrored effects. Glass remains central, but we experiment with colours, effects and materials in ways that wouldn’t have been possible decades ago.
The LEUCOS Stacking TR floor lamp in Casa REDdUO by REDdUO | Photography by Giulio Ghirardi
Customisation is becoming increasingly important in design. How is LEUCOS adapting its lighting solutions to meet the needs of designers and architects seeking more flexibility and personalisation?
Abramo Manfrotto: Customisation has always been part of our DNA. We have systems, like stacking suspensions with standard lengths, but we can expand, shrink, or decorate them. Designers can choose the size, shape, colour, or colour temperature. For fully custom projects, like Byredo or La Mamounia in Marrakesh, we reverse-engineer and adapt lighting for specific spaces—everything is possible, from standard to 100 per cent bespoke systems. Ultimately, we aim to help designers incorporate creativity into the end result without having to reinvent the wheel or re-engineer constantly.
How is LEUCOS approaching sustainability—not just in materials and production, but in creating products that last aesthetically and functionally over time?
Abramo Manfrotto: In glass production, we often end up with offcuts that would otherwise be discarded, and we try to recycle these leftovers by exploring ways designers can use the broken pieces. I like to approach designers and say, “We produce this—can you create something with the leftovers?” At the same time, durability is crucial: making products that last is one of the most sustainable choices you can make.
Looking ahead, where do you see the most exciting opportunities for innovation in lighting design, and how is LEUCOS positioning itself within that future?
Abramo Manfrotto: For us, we distinguish technical lighting from decorative lighting. Our focus is on decorative: on shape, materials, and what makes the lighting really beautiful. For example, the LEUCOS Stacking TR floor lamp—I don’t even consider it a light—it’s just a beautiful sculpture that illuminates.
The future for us is to continue exploring and working with designers who understand how to create products that people will love and that will last, using different materials and technologies to achieve that. I’m also interested in experimenting with lasers in glassmaking.
“My father’s company is where I was first exposed to professional lighting for photographers and cinematographers,” Manfrotto says. Pictured: Abramo in the studio with his father, Lino Manfrotto.
What would you most like to share with the Australian design community?
Abramo Manfrotto: I’d like to share my passion about what we do at LEUCOS and how we do it—I represent a company that has an incredible heritage. We’re interested in working with designers who see lighting as more than a functional element—who are interested in craft, personalisation and long-lasting design. Our products can work beautifully in Australian projects, respecting both heritage and contemporary spaces.
After years of design, what brings you the greatest sense of fulfilment, and what’s next for you and the business?
Abramo Manfrotto: I don’t feel fulfilled yet. Fulfilment will come when I can spend more time researching, experimenting and developing ideas with my designers and engineers, which is what I love to do. What motivates me most is originality. What hurts me most is copying. Innovation deserves respect.
Let’s finish with a quick-fire round — short, sharp, one-word answers only:
Era? Now
Product? Knife
Inspirational person? My dad
City? London
Material? Aluminum
Designer? Gino Sarfatti
Dedece is the exclusive retailer of LEUCOS in Australia and invited CEO Abramo Manfrotto to visit in November 2025.
The LEUCOS Gill table lamp by Roberto Pamio in Foundry Lane by Jolson | Photography by Timothy Kaye
DIN LINEA by Renato Toso from the abundant 60-year LEUCOS archive.
