48|PROTAGONISTA What Artemide did bet for creating a lamp as Lo- tek? Laura Cassotta: Because always we have liked the challenges, already be looking always for original and new forms as collaborating with the international designers who with his offers do of a lamp slightly very special Artemide. Javier Mariscal was the designer chosen to design it why? Laura Cassotta: Because it was a challenge both for Artemide and for the same Javier who was designing a flexo, he, what being a designer who was coming from the World of the Illustration, the Image of the Merchandising for big Companies, of being employed at Cinema, very near to the environment of the Art ... it was the only profile! How did the relationship bet- ween Artemide and Javier Ma- riscal start? Javier Mariscal: The engineer Gis- mondi, Mr Artemide came one day to the studio and said to me, “Ma- riscal, Perché non mi fai una lam- pada? We are selling Tolomeo, and we sell such a quantity every year, millions ... And I said, ‘But you’re crazy? I’m not an engineer; I can not make a lamp so fine, so elegant, so cool, so technical as the Tolomeo. It is also the best-selling lamp on the market. Look, in my studio there are sixty Tolomeos ... ‘No, no, no... ‘he said. I have many engineers, you make me the con- cept”. And I said ok. Then I learned that not only Michele De Lucchi, but even Artemide chief engineer, were also making a flexo lamp. Who did decide Lotek’s name? Laura Cassotta: Mariscal What was the design process of the Lotek Lamp? Javier Mariscal: ‘New technology, usiamo adeso il LED’ he said. Ah, new technology ... so it will be a cold lamp. The process has been long, very long. I was very scared during the whole process that in the end they did not make it, because other lamps, other projects, during the same time as the Lotek did not go ahead. I used to call and asked, ‘what happens?’ I knew that in the case of Artemide, if they put out the lamp it would be of high quality and everything would work. Which is the process of produc- tion of a lamp as Lotek, from the first meetings with the designer up to his final production? Laura Cassotta: In general they are very long processes. In this case everything begins when Marshall designs a model and exposes the