Multi-Lite Pendant Lamp by Louis Weisdorf for Lyfa, 1970s

Born in 1932, Danish architect-designer Louis Weisdorf graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art in Copenhagen in 1954. Although his career has been long and multifaceted—his projects have spanned graphic, furniture, and interior design—he’s best known for the iconic lighting designs he created for Lyfa in the 1960s and ’70s.

In the years following school, Weisdorf worked for a number of high-profile Danish designers, including Poul Henningsen and Verner Panton. In 1961, Simon Henningsen (son of Poul) hired Weisdorf to assist him in overseeing the development and management of Copenhagen’s famous Tivoli Gardens, where Henningsen installed a number of artistic light fixtures, both indoors and out. Weisdorf held this position for a decade. Around 1965, he launched his own design studio, sharing a space with Ole Panton , brother of Verner.

Some of the most beloved lighting designs that Weisdorf put into production with Lyfa include the Konkylie Hanging Lamp (1963), Facet Pendant (1963), Turbo Pendant (1965-67), Facet Pop Pendant (1970), Ekko Pendant (1966-68), and Multi-Lite Collection (1972-74). Because Weisdorf’s designs tended to involved intricate, overlapping layers of metal or plastic—an eye-catching composition for reducing glare—Lyfa sold his work as “prestige lighting.” Consequently these pieces were not produced in very large quantities, and they went out of production when Fog & Mørup acquired Lyfa in the 1970s.

Danish lighting company Lyfa was originally founded ca. 1924 under the name of Københavns Lampe Og Lysekronefabrik in the early 20th century. Based in the greater Copenhagen area and renamed Lyfa ca. 1930, the firm began producing table lamps inspired by the multi-shaded PH Series (from 1925) by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen. Lyfa's lighting continued to show this influence through the 1940s.

By the 1950s, Lyfa had built an international reputation for original, high-quality, modernist lamps. In the postwar era, the company collaborated with esteemed architects and designers to produce minimalist, sculptural, "Space Age" table lamps, wall lights, and pendants, especially in colored glass, plastic, and enameled aluminum.

Bent Karlby, in particular, created a number of successful designs for Lyfa in the 1960s, such as the Kvadrille Wall Light, Omega Pendant, Pan-Opticon Wall Light, Påfugl/Peacock Wall Light, and Wonderlamp Pendant. One of Lyfa's most iconic designs is the Facet Pendant (1963/66), as well as its successor, the polychrome Facet Pop Pendant (1970) by Louis Weisdorf. It's also believed that Lyfa was the main producer of Orrefors lighting and designer Carl Fagerlund.

Other standout Lyfa collaborators in the midcentury include Michael Andersen, Acton Bjørn, Claus Bonderup, Piet Hein, Klaus Helweg-Larsen, Simon Henningsen, Finn Juhl, and Nils and Eva Koppel.

In its heydey—from the 1950s to mid-1970s—Lyfa was considered a pioneer in innovative, architectural lighting. Along the way, the company received numerous awards—including multiple International Forum Product Design Awards. Lyfa merged with Danish lighting competitor Fog & Mørup in the mid '70s. The new company operated as Lyfa-Fog & Mørup until the 1980s when it was taken over by a mass-market lighting producer, Lyskaer, and the Fog & Mørup brand was abandoned. That company has since changed hands, with the Lyfa label currently owned (but largely discontinued) by Nordlux of Ålborg.