Albi Serfaty, the Founder and Designer of Aqua Creations recalls how his brand of bespoke light fixtures began. “My wife, who at the time was pregnant, was snorkeling in the Red Sea. In the water, she felt as though she was experiencing what it must be like for our baby to be in her womb.” Ayala Serfaty emerged from the water and immediately began sketching the first designs of their soon to be Aqua Creations. The couple spent five years experimenting with shape and design, defining their aesthetic language before their work was showcased at Milan Design Week in 1997. Serfaty recalls the style at the time being very minimalist and white-on-white. Despite this, he launched his brand with bright hues, defying both trends and the odds with the popularity the brand gained. 

Since the brand’s initial success at Milan Design Week, noteworthy projects include an underwater restaurant in Eilat and the creation of an 1,800 kg lamp in Valencia. A recent series called ToTeM features stand alone or stackable fixtures. At first, the pieces were supposed to be made from silk, like the rest of the fixtures are but ToTeM was different. “I used polymer skin and an exposed metal frame so that the fixtures can be stacked,” explains Serfaty. The sleek design can be mounted on the wall, prepared as a hanging fixture, or used simply as a floor lamp. With the metal frame configured on the outside instead of internally, there is a shadow-like pattern seen across its white background, which becomes part of the design itself.