A creative design duo releases a new line of Mid-Century-inspired lights.
Husband-and-wife design team Marcia Zia and Paul Priven may no longer work in the entertainment industry per se (Marcia was once an Emmy-nominated set decorator and Paul an assistant director), but their striking and sophisticated lighting designs have enough sparkle and bling to satisfy any Hollywood A-lister.
Getting the itch to leave the “industry” and looking for something “we could call our own,” the couple’s overlapping interests in art history and design led them to open an antiques store which, they noticed, they were increasingly stocking with vintage chandeliers, sconces and lamps. At the risk of being melodramatic – credit all those years in the entertainment world) – “It was almost a calling,” they say. Not only were they buying and selling vintage lighting, but they were restoring it as well. In a true light bulb moment, they turned to each other and said, “Why don’t we make a chandelier ourselves?” The married couple’s love for vintage lighting and their appreciation for lighting’s dramatic effects led them to create their own award-winning designs.
Now, 14 years later, Zia-Priven is known for its extraordinary lighting fixtures that have been featured in more than 250 design publications worldwide and sought after by the industry’s top designers, including Jamie Drake and Lauren Rottet, Geoffery Bradfield, Mark Zeff, and Oscar de la Renta. Zia and Priven no longer make every piece of lighting by hand, but a team of skilled artisans and master craftspeople hand-finish the precision-machined metals in a spectrum of standard or semi-precious plated finishes, producing an array of sparkling chandeliers, pendants, sconces, table and floor lamps, and accessories of hand-blown glass, brazed bronze, custom-tailored silk shades, and hand-strung quartz crystals.
The couple’s clear glass or rock crystal lighting designs, such as their H2O Rocks chandelier and Infinity pendant, work especially well in coastal homes, they say, because their transparency allows you to enjoy both the fixture and the view at the same time, and by refracting light, beautifully enhance the shifting hues of the ocean views.
Both raised in Los Angeles, Zia and Priven strongly believe in the wealth of untapped talent in their native city, and remain committed to discovering and using the best artisans they can find in their own hometown. “We grew up here, we take pride in our city, and we take pride in our work,” they say.
In addition to their longstanding offerings, Zia and Priven have just debuted four new hand-crafted Mid-Century-inspired collections – the Tazza, Palladio, Amuse Bouche, and Marrakech, and have introduced a curated collection of vintage and antique lighting, art, furniture and accessories.
“We want to give our clients the flexibility of choice and individuality,” they say. Zia and Priven see their approach to lighting design as a way of eliciting emotion, at the same time bringing new modernity to traditional design. “That,” they say, “is what fuels and excites us.” ziapriven.com