Since 1994, H.ISLE has been designing, developing, and manufacturing lighting in France.
The first pieces were sculptural lights, handcrafted from vintage components sourced from France’s industrial heritage: Holophane glass, mechanical elements, selected for their distinctive lines. Some have since become impossible to find.
Then comes another idea: to rediscover the light of a candle.
For centuries, a candle has accompanied meals, conversations, and moments we wished to linger over.
A low, warm, flickering flame, placed at the center of the table.
It did not illuminate much, but it illuminated just enough.
Luxciole, in continuous production since 2011
In 2011, H.ISLE created Luxciole®, one of the first rechargeable table lamps. The technology did not yet exist. It had to be invented.
Not to replace the candle. To recapture what made it unique.
Luxciole, in continuous production since 2011
Nicolas Dreyfus and Gaël Reyre, CEO and President of H.ISLE
In 2025, Gaël Reyre and Nicolas Dreyfus take over H.ISLE.
My grandparents passed their high standards and curiosity on to me from an early age. In 1956, they opened Galerie Steph Simon, one of the first design galleries in France, where they produced furniture, including pieces by Charlotte Perriand.
I grew up surrounded by these pieces. I played on them. That is where I came to understand that an object could tell a story just as much as it could serve a purpose.
For nearly twenty-five years, I worked for Marie Claire Maison, where I led the magazine’s style direction for several years.
It taught me to look at things differently: to discover designers, anticipate trends, create settings, and tell the stories of objects through images. I later extended that perspective into interior architecture, designing spaces and working with materials, colors, and light.
Today, I still do essentially the same thing. I no longer tell the stories of other people’s objects. I create and manufacture those of H.ISLE.
I share this journey with Nicolas Dreyfus, who has spent his career leading companies in France and internationally. Our backgrounds are different, but deeply complementary.
Our ambition is simple: for H.ISLE to be a name people mention when they talk about light, and for it to be counted among France’s distinguished design houses. Both, not one or the other. That is the work of the years ahead.
Gaël Reyre
Nicolas Dreyfus and Gaël Reyre, CEO and President of H.ISLE
It all begins with an idea.
Little by little, the design takes shape.
We give it form.
The light, the proportions, the materials, the finishes.
Every detail contributes to its balance.
Creating is about making these choices.
Manufacturing is about making them possible.
Light is not something you look at. It decides what you see.
What it leaves in shadow matters as much as what it reveals.
Ours is designed to respect what it illuminates.
A lamp gives light its form.
Light gives it its purpose.
PICO Desk Lamp. Around it, sheets from the numbered edition that Steph Simon gave to his friends in 1972.
Some pieces continue to find their place, year after year.
Their design transcends trends without ever losing its sense of rightness.
Time reveals what no words can prove.
In the end, it is the truest measure of all.
PICO Desk Lamp. Around it, sheets from the numbered edition that Steph Simon gave to his friends in 1972.
