Douglas Mont Relaunches Rispal, the Beloved French Lighting Atelier

Georges Léon Rispal founded his eponymous lighting company, located in Paris’s 11th arrondissement, in 1924. For almost sixty years it created lamps, pendants, and sconces that blended French élan with Scandinavian minimalism; its famed Formes Nouvelles collection is but one example. In 1982, the factory and all its tools and technical drawings were destroyed, and Rispal products became collectors’ items. After years of study and research, longtime fan and lighting designer Douglas Mont has relaunched the company, recreating classic floor models like Mante Religieuse—a cloth-covered wire threaded through a praying mantis-like frame of oak, ash, or walnut—and the charming Girafe à Tablette. Inspired by Rispal’s aesthetic, Mont has also devised a program of new table, floor, and wall-mounted lighting, including Goutte and Phasme, which offer delicate, teardrop-shape glass diffusers in retro configurations that feel utterly timeless.