Formed in 1953 and named for his initials - Ji eL Dé - Jean-Louis Domecq created the company to manufacture the lamp that he had designed in 1950. As a mechanic he had been unable to find a lamp that suited his day-to-day activities and so he drew one himself: simple, robust and articulated. In constant production for the next thirty years, after Domecq's death in 1983 his successors developed the 'Standard' work lamp for many other contexts, called 'Loft': a floor lamp, reading lamp, wall lamp and a small version - the 'Signal'. Jieldé lamps are recognized as being icons of French industrial art. They are still manufactured by the original methods in Lyon and each one is numbered