Biography

John Robson Reid (1925–1992) and Sylvia Reid, née Sylvia Mary Payne (1925–2022), were two British architects and designers who worked together from 1951. Their work encompassed architecture, interior design, furniture, and lighting. Consultants to numerous companies and institutions, they collaborated with clients including Rotaflex Lighting, British Rail, the Post Office, Thorn Lighting, and Stag Furniture. For Rotaflex, they explored the possibilities of cellulose acetate filament, developing lightweight, translucent lampshades suitable for mass production.

Literature

Furniture and decor, no. 793, 1964; Rotaflex trade catalogue, circa 1960; Architecture & History Research Network, entries by John Robson Reid and Sylvia Reid; documentation from the Museum of Design in Plastics devoted to Rotaflex lighting fixtures.

Institutional reference

The Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP) holds Rotaflex lampshades designed by John and Sylvia Reid in its collections. The museum also documents the manufacturing process using acetate cellulose filament and notes that two of their models were included in the Disderot catalog in 1957. Museum of Design in Plastics — Rotaflex lampshade, John and Sylvia Reid.

Discover John & Sylvia Reid at DIZAGN

Lamp 1207 is currently the John & Sylvia Reid piece documented in the DIZAGN archives. DIZAGN Expertise.