Inspirations

Paper & Tea Amsterdam

Atmospheric Light for Unique Shopping

09.04.2025

Paper & Tea offers premium tea, accessories and exclusive paper goods such as greeting cards and calendars both online and in stores across Germany. In 2023, the brand began its international expansion and was looking for a lighting partner for the roll-out. We impressed with our solutions and services, illuminating 25 stores within just one year. The filigree Lenty Track lens spotlight and the RF lighting management system are central to the concept. A visit to the new Amsterdam branch on Utrechtsestraat demonstrates how high-quality lighting enhances the shopping experience.

A passion for tea is a way of life

Founder and CEO Jens de Gryter launched Paper & Tea after struggling to find select tea varieties in Germany. This passion for tea is reflected in the branches. Tea isn’t just sold – it is celebrated. Each shop is an exclusive location, with a breathtaking design concept with lighting that sets the scene. We delivered our part of the concept using a track system and Lenty Track spotlights. The ConVision lens technology creates a focussed beam with a low proportion of spilt light, ensuring high contrast and strong product presentation with a lot of atmosphere in the room. "The lighting concept was specifically developed for the small-scale and exclusive Paper & Tea range and combines pleasant ambient lighting with many dramatic highlights on the merchandise," explains Loreto di Bella, Key Account Manager at TRILUX. The Lenty Track spotlights are networked via Bluetooth Low Energy.

Every branch is unique

The Amsterdam store is in a listed historic building with large glass facades and a matcha-green timber frontage that reflects the brand identity. Inside, the narrow, elongated layout features natural wood and stone. The ceiling height tapers in two stages to the rear, so we used LiveLink Retail / Casambi to dim the luminous flux of lower-mounted luminaires, maintaining uniform light levels and maximising system efficiency. "Even though all stores use the Lenty Track spotlight, each project is different due to unique architectural conditions," explains Loreto di Bella. We have already delivered stores in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Benelux, Switzerland, and Austria.

A strong and growing partnership

Our collaboration with Paper & Tea extends beyond retail lighting. We have also delivered lighting for two office projects - a new build and a refurbishment concept – at the company’s headquarters, using Lenty Track spotlights with other solutions from our portfolio. The design has received critical acclaim: the headquarters received the German Design Award 2025 in the "Excellent Architecture - Interior Architecture" category and the ICONIC Award 2024 " Best of the Best" in the "INTERIOR - Corporate" category from the German Design Council. Meanwhile, the Berlin flagship store on Kurfürstendamm won the German Design Award 2025 for the "Excellent Architecture - Retail Architecture" category, and was also honoured in the ICONIC AWARDS 2024 for "INTERIOR - Retail".