Shining a Light on Soffi Lighting

Unique Designs to Brighten any Space.

By Jen Brignall-Strong Photo by Trevor Booth

One of Windsor’s best kept secrets is bringing art into the realm of daily life.

With nearly two decades of experience in metal and glass design and fabrication, Soffi Lighting has earned a reputation for creating spectacular, bespoke lighting fixtures.

Through their internationally acclaimed decorative glass firm, Soffi Studio, the team creates sculptural blown glass installations, contemporary decorative accessories, and functional objects. Working with interior designers and art consultants from around the world, they provide original design solutions for commercial, hospitality, and residential projects.

Although the company was founded in Windsor in 2004, it wasn’t until recently that the team began taking on local projects.

Now the word is out, and owners Eva Milinkovic and Kris Gene are excited to bring their expertise and oneof-a-kind lighting designs to homeowners right in their own backyard.

“Most of our work was abroad; either in Toronto or the US,” says Kris. “The business has been open for nearly 20 years and the past two years were really when we started focusing on local.”

Kris says the company originally started off doing accessory work and artistic installations like wall work. Almost a decade later, they shifted their focus to custom lighting projects.

“It just seemed like a natural transition for us to start incorporating more of that into what we do,” says Kris.

The word ‘Soffi’ comes from the Italian glassblowing tool, Soffietta, and is derived from the Italian verb ‘soffiare’,

which means to blow or puff. The name Soffi embodies the very soul of the glass blowing process; the breath of the craftsperson. It is this human touch that goes into everything the company produces.

“What sets us apart is that all our work is original and hand made locally,” says Eva. “It’s like getting a suit custom made versus buying one off the rack.”

All of Soffi’s glass and metal work is created on site by their knowledgeable staff, making their products truly exceptional; standing out from prefabricated pieces you’d find at a big box store.

“The nice thing here is that everybody here has really unique, complementing skills. Everyone has their expertise,” says Eva. “We make all the molds here for glass blowing so we have a CNC machine. We do all the engineering here, so we have engineers who look at things like stress analysis of the fixtures.”

Eva says the designs Soffi offers have evolved through their own process and came naturally, resulting in a style that people can recognize as uniquely theirs.

“The idea with our line of lighting is that you can choose a design and then we customize it to fit the space,” she explains. “So it’s an original design for the client based on one of our existing designs. We also do completely custom work from scratch.”

While the majority of their local work is with interior designers, Eva notes that they do work directly with home and business owners as well.

“We provide an experience for our local clients where they can come in, sit down and discuss the designs before we start fabricating,” adds Kris. “We can even have them in during the manufacturing process so they can actually see their fixture being made and the glass being blown.”

From their delicate glass globes and spheres to modern pendant lights and chandeliers, Soffi’s designs are meant to be hung individually or in groupings. Styles can be mixed and matched to create a personalized fixture, unique to any environment.

Through this approach, says Kris, Soffi has carved out a niche of clients who appreciate handcrafted items and are familiar with what it means to buy something custom made.

“A lot of the houses we’ve been working on lately have been custom homes, so by default as soon as you get into different ceiling heights and room sizes it starts to get difficult to find appropriate lighting fixtures that work in the space and I think that’s really where we fit,” he notes.

“Living in a space with beautiful things that you appreciate is more of a philosophy; you appreciate the designer behind it,” adds Eva. “There’s something to be said about paring down and having nice things that are personal to you.”

To learn more about Soffi Lighting and view their latest designs, visit soffilighting.com W.E.