Mariana Folberg
Mariana Folberg
“Ever since I can remember, I have always painted and created arts.
After graduating my industrial design studies in the Academy Bezalel, I have worked as an industrial designer in a private company in New York City. After living the big city life for a while, I decided to move to San Francisco – the city of spirituality and creativity. For me, that moment in my life indicated a change was coming in my perception as a professional designer. My desire to create art, and the experience of working in cooperation with large Chinese factories where employment conditions are so tough, made me make that change. I decided to focus on finding the balance between art and industrial design. Passionately, I was trying to build a new world for me, that included those two fascinating fields by creating small series of everyday products. I found the way to create my unique art and products while maintaining high quality at an affordable price, manufacturing it locally.”
Plant Lamps by Mariana Folberg
Mariana Folberg’s Mar de Fe design studio produces an array of unique household and everyday use items, from ultra-thin wood veneer greeting cards to resin wall sculptures and multi-colored, translucent acrylic clocks. On her Etsy page and on Mar de Fe’s website, Mariana says she tries “to find the balance between art and industrial design,” and that she works “to create designs that simply make people happy.”
One of Mariana’s most unique items, and the centerpiece of Mar de Fe’s Etsy store, is her line of plant lamps. Made of red, green or yellow acrylic, the intricately detailed synthetic leaves are illuminated by led lights that are placed in the potting material at the base of the plant. When the lamp is switched on, the light is transmitted through the leaves’ engraved veins, highlighting each thinly etched groove. In a dark room they emit a soft, colored glow, perfect for use as a night light or as non-intrusive mood lighting.
Mariana’s industrial design background is palpable in her work, as these lamps have a distinct manufactured feel to them, yet contain the liveliness and warmth of art. Like the other products on display in Mar de Fe’s online store, they are alive with color and a pervading sense of playfulness, proving that “manufactured” doesn’t have to be synonymous with “soulless.”