The January edition of the Parisian design and interiors trade fair Maison et Objet sets the tone for the year ahead. Spread over nine vast halls at the Parc des Expositions to the north of Paris, the show hosts 3,194 exhibitors and attracts 83,000 visitors over five days.

This year the theme was “make”, in response to growing interest in the process of how things are made across the design world — from the potter at the wheel to the engineer in the digital environment. This was evident in the lighting on show at the fair, where recent advances in low-energy bulb technology were incorporated artistically into many designs.

At Canadian company Bocci, Omer Arbel’s tactile new design, the 73 light, appears to float in the air like a cloud. “We are drawn to the ways of making new things, rather than the new things themselves,” he says. “With the 73 we explored the technique of blowing hot glass into a high-temperature-resistant ceramic fabric, so that the glass takes on not only the form but also the texture of the textile.”