On Saturday, May 17, as part of NYCxDesign Week, the Lower East Side played host to a gathering that felt less like a typical launch and more like a creative salon.
At 46 Hester Street, vintage-modern design house Rarify and California lighting innovator Gantri debuted their modular lighting concept, Cube One™, in a venue pulsing with energy, conversation, and color.
Inside the chic, intimate space, a curated mix of design lovers and creatives packed in shoulder-to-shoulder to explore a new way forward in lighting. At the center of it all: clusters of illuminated cubes (part sculpture, part lamp) by Gantri Made, a digital manufacturing platform aiming to disrupt the limitations of traditional production. It promises a new era of speed, sustainability, and accessibility for emerging designers.
The Cube One™ fixture is deceptively simple: a Gantri 3D-printed, plant-based lighting core housed inside sleek, modular components from USM Haller, the iconic Swiss furniture system. But its simplicity is its genius. The result is a lighting piece that’s flexible, stackable, and forward-thinking—modularity with character. Whether assembled as a single floor lamp or built into sprawling grid installations, Cube One™ plays equally well in a gallery, a loft, or a creative studio.
The vibe matched the vision. Eclectic, colorful furniture scattered the space, setting the stage for easy conversation and discovery. A DJ spun mellow house and rhythmic electronica while guests admired the glowing geometric forms and caught up over cocktails. The bar included a bold espresso martini that packed a punch and a lemon mule that was crisp and refreshing enough to be dangerous.
Ian Yang, founder of Gantri, was in the mix, casually chatting with guests about the capabilities of the Gantri Made platform. His presence was approachable, not performative, like a founder who’d rather explain the tech behind the design than pose for photos.
By mid-evening, the party spilled out onto Hester Street. Attendees gathered in groups on the sidewalk, espresso martinis in hand, catching the lingering warmth of spring while continuing conversations about lighting, design accessibility, and creative independence. A standout detail in the space was the Cube One™ fixture displayed atop a vibrant green ROCCO Super Smart Fridge, a sleek, tech-integrated appliance that merges refrigeration, bar design, and smart home functionality. True to its dual purpose, the fridge also served as a stylish station for Dio’s chilled cocktails.
The collaboration between Rarify and Gantri is less about hype and more about a shift by making design objects that are smart, modular, and easy to bring into the world. Gantri Made removes the friction from the production process with no long lead times and no massive budgets, giving designers a shot at building and scaling their ideas on their terms.
If Cube One™ is any indication, this isn’t just about lighting. It’s about rethinking how design gets made, and who gets to make it.
For more on the collaboration and to see Cube One™ in action, visit rarify.co and gantri.com
