Stefan Diez was born in 1971 into a family of carpenters, of which he represents the fourth generation. Before opening his own agency, he was assistant to German designer Konstantin Grcic. He loves experimenting, especially with materials, and his craftsmanship background has has had a major influence on how he works.

“Our encounter was a very simple affair. Sammode came to see me with a great story of how the tube light is made. The Sammode factory in Châtillon-sur-Saône, in the Vosges region, is like a toolbox brimming with parts with which we can create an array of different versions – in other words, it’s a system. That’s what convinced me to become part of the adventure.”

“I was really interested in working with a European company, especially a French family business, which makes its luminaires in France. There is a lot of know-how in Europe and we can’t let it all disappear to Asia or elsewhere, or jobs will disappear too. We designers need to contribute to society in a more social way, to think about things more holistically. Instead of merely designing a product, we should also consider the whole production chain: the way a product is made, where, how and by whom.”