Photograph Courtesy of Raymond Barberousse

I am one of those people who believe that great things can come out of tough times. And this story backs me up.

When Pilsen resident Raymond Barberousse got laid off from his architecture firm in 2009, he turned his attention to the house he and his wife were renovating. And because they had some serious budgetary restraints, Barberousse decided to design and build a lot of the lighting and furniture they needed for the house instead of buying them.

That would have been the end of it, except that one day, while shopping at vintage store Modern Cooperative, his wife showed his designs to the shop owner. Soon Barberousse was selling his handmade light fixtures at the store and, ultimately, launched his own business.

The designs are sculptural and simple. The newest collection, called Diwali (shown here) is made up of brass light fixtures inspired by this Indian festival of lights, when it’s traditional to place small lit oil lamps around one’s house and garden.

So now we get to buy his amazing pieces and he has a budding design business. Not a bad ending at all.