Innovation and design are present in equal parts in the DNA of A-emotional light, based in O Milladoiro. The company has been in the lighting business for more than 25 years. In 2000, they decided to revamp their strategy with a leap into the international market, which currently accounts for 85% of their sales.

Miguel Martínez, sales manager and one of the two co-owners of the company, explains that "today the largest volume of products is marketed in the USA", where they have had a subsidiary for several years. In addition, his creations are present all over the world, in Europe and in countries such as India, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, China, Singapore and South Africa.

The success of A-emotional light lies in having opted for the manufacture of handmade designer lamps. The 20 workers at its production plant in O Milladoiro create between three and four collections a year that are marketed for hospitality projects, restaurants or high-end homes that choose very careful designs for the lighting of their facilities.

The company has received help from the DeseñaPeme programme of the Galician Innovation Agency of the Regional Government of Galicia, which has allowed it, according to Miguel Martínez, "to allocate more resources to continue innovating in designs and add more qualified staff members to work on new collections".

Participation in the programme has brought with it the possibility of researching new materials and new forms, new ways of designing that had not been used before, pioneering proposals that will soon see the light of day in the market. They have also added a creative director to the team, Isaac Piñeiro from Pontevedra, who is working on new product solutions.

One of the new, almost ready-made designs is a lamp made with 3D fabric, like the one used for sneakers. The material is fed into digital machines that produce a continuous, seamless fabric that adapts to the shape of the lamp designed. This way, they incorporate materials never before used in the lighting sector and that allow them to reduce the size of packaging (flat pack) so that a large volume lamp can be shipped in a small package, in turn reducing the carbon footprint, which is part of their environmental responsibility strategy.

Handmade parts

Its designs fall under the category of high-end decorative lighting, and most of its production is done by hand, so the company's energy consumption is very low. The prevailing material in most of their proposals is painted stainless steel mesh, which is moulded by hand. "They have the same proportions and dimensions, but each piece is unique," says Martínez. It is a very resistant, washable material that stands the test of time, which makes it ideal for restoration and hotel projects. Another of its differential points is the play of light and shadows generated by the light passing through the material, creating very special and emotional atmospheres.

One of its goals has been to subject different materials to a manual manufacturing process to achieve a contemporary design that highlights both traditional craft techniques and materials that can be given a second life. This is the case of the collaboration they have established with a sculptor with whom they have designed a luminaire made of stone. To do this, they have reused the material left over from the stonemason and have produced new pieces of stone.

The same has been achieved with a potter they are collaborating with to manufacture a new lamp that will be marketed internationally.

Their creations can be seen in restaurants and hotels in many countries and are easily recognisable for their innovative design. Looking to the future, they aspire to grow in a controlled manner in order to continue taking Galician design and manufacturing around the world.