RETRO THINC at Design Shanghai 2024

Presenting Sublime and Orbs at one of Asia's leading design exhibitions.

In 2024, RETRO THINC participated in Design Shanghai, presenting both the Sublime and Orbs series to a wider audience of designers, architects, collectors, and design enthusiasts.

For us, the exhibition was not simply an opportunity to display products.

It was an opportunity to present an idea.

An idea that a lava lamp could be reimagined as a contemporary lighting object.

Throughout the exhibition, the two series occupied the space in different ways.

The Sublime series introduced a taller, more architectural presence. Its elongated proportions emphasized verticality, transforming the familiar lava lamp into something closer to a sculptural floor lamp.

Alongside it, the Orbs series explored a smaller scale. Compact, approachable, and playful, it offered a different interpretation of movement and light while sharing the same physical principles.

Rather than separating the collections, we chose to present them together.

Different heights, different scales, and different color compositions created a landscape of moving forms throughout the booth.

As visitors moved through the space, reflections, shadows, and constantly shifting wax formations became part of the exhibition itself.

Looking back, Design Shanghai marked an important moment for RETRO THINC.

Not because it was our largest exhibition.

But because it reinforced a belief that has guided the brand from the beginning:

Some objects deserve a second life.

Not through nostalgia, but through reinterpretation.

The lava lamp is one of them.