Verner Panton Flowerpot Lamp: Late Danish furniture designer's daughter re-issues iconic 1968 lamp

Carin Panton, daughter of legendary Danish designer Verner Panton, talks about carrying on the legacy of her father’s works and sharing his love of colour with homeowners of today.

One of the most prolific and radical Scandinavian designers of his time, Verner Panton stood out with his use of warm (and sometimes psychedelic colours) at a time when others preferred sticking to muted, earthy hues.

The simple silhouettes of his creations, like the Flowerpot lamp designed in 1968, become perfect canvases for showcasing a wide range of colours, each evoking a different emotion and mood.

Home & Decor caught up with Carin Panton, Verner Panton’s daughter, during the launch of five new colours for the Flowerpot range (released in collaboration with Danish design house &Tradition) to find out just what about Verner’s creations make them so timeless and trend-resistant.

& Tradition Flowerpot VP1 Pendant Lamp

You are responsible for upholding your father's legacy and to keep Panton designs alive and fresh. How did the new &Tradition Flowerpot pendant lamp come about?

Carin Panton: It is very important to protect his legacy and act the way he did so that new production doesn’t go in the wrong direction.

My father was happy all his life to change colours, to align with whatever he felt was the right colour at the right time. So, introducing new colours is a natural progression. As long as the colours are warm and aligned to his thinking we are happy to experiment.

We have a great relationship with &Tradition and we worked very closely together on the new Flowerpot colour range to come up with five beautiful, warm and intense colours.

The Cobalt Blue is one of my father’s original colours and then there’s an aquatic or Swim Blue, Vermilion Red, Tangy Pink and Dark Plum.

What is your most cherished memory of your father, Verner Panton?

Oh, that is indeed a pretty difficult question to answer! But what I perhaps admired most about my father was his immense creativity and his generosity. I also loved his subtle sense of humour.

Some of my most cherished memories with him are long walks by the sea near our summer house in Denmark and visiting Louisiana - a wonderful Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, north of Copenhagen.

What is it about Verner Panton's design that makes them enduring?

As my father’s work was so visionary and mostly ahead of his time, it still seems contemporary today. And for sure his love for innovation, creating unexpected designs, as well as the use of new materials and colours explains their timelessness.

Another reason might be that some of his works are in fact of astonishing simplicity, which makes them classic. The Flowerpot is a perfect example.

How did your father, Verner Panton, use colours to evoke emotion?

My father believed that colours have a meaning and can induce sensations and emotions. For him it was very important that choosing colour should be a conscious decision, not a gamble.

Some colours can be very cold, but he always used warm colours – a warm red, warm orange, warm purple and so on. He also loved to provoke people with his ideas and inspire them to introduce their own fantasy at home and not just do the same as the neighbour.

With some of the scenography and exhibitions he created he wasn’t suggesting that everyone should live like that, he just wanted to push them to dare to be at least a little bit like that.

When I grew up, we lived in a totally Panton-coloured house and I am sure it inspired people to try a bit of colour at home.

How can young homeowners relate to Panton today?

Back in the late 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s the work of my father mostly reached a younger crowd.

A generation that was keen on a new way of living; a generation that was open to new and unusual designs and people that, just like my father, were inspired by strong and vibrant colours.

I think that the positive vibe of my father’s work appeals to the young generation today, just like it did to the young people back then.

What influence did your father have on your home?

When we bought our house here in Munich we thought it was so ugly that we either had to tear everything down and start again, or keep it and make it a fun crazy colourful home. And that’s what we did, we kept it and brought it to life.

Verner Panton liked the entire room to be in a single colour

My father was still alive when we did the main house, so he helped us. With him it was always one room one colour, a totality, or otherwise it would be too frenetic, so the ceiling, walls and preferably the floor should be in one colour.

Verner Panton's favourite colours: Yellow, orange, red, green

In the house we have all his favourite colours, yellow, red, orange and green, all warm of course. My father always made the hallways or connecting rooms grey and he considered white a non-colour. Later on, after my father had died, we built an annex and did it in his colours as well – orange, purple and pink.

My husband grew up in off-white but with a lot of contemporary art. It’s fantastic that he adapted to our colours and he loves them. When people come to our house they don’t say anything, they act as if it’s the most normal thing in the world, usually because they don’t like it or they are in deep shock.

Having said that, I think people are more used to decorating with colours now than when I was a child.

Carin Panton's Favourite Colour: Red

Personally I am very fond of red colours. I love them because they are energetic and vibrant. They give me a feeling of comfort and warmth.

Verner Panton seldom used black and white

Verner seldom used black and white in his works, as he was much more into colours. Especially the ones that “pulled you in”. And he was keen on the fact that every colour has a meaning and a function.

He was not very fond of white.

However he liked the contrast between black and white, when working with certain materials like enamel. The wave pattern of the black and white Flowerpot is a good example.

Back then, the wave pattern was even introduced in different colour combinations. Today we are working on this colour palette of the Flowerpot with &Tradition.

What's the next design for the Flowerpot Lamp?

The way we see and perceive colours is constantly changing. It was therefore important for my father and it is today for us, to define new colours over time and to treat them holistically, as they all have a meaning
and a function.

Together with &tradition we have many great plans for the future for the flowerpot, but unfortunately I cannot reveal those yet. But stay tuned, there’re lots to come!

Finally, finish this sentence:

Verner Panton is, and will always be... My favourite designer and my forever inspiration!

The new Flowerpot range retails from $300 for a portable light to $380 for a pendant lamp, and is available from Cult Design and Made&Make.