My Process
I think of my lamps as light sculptures; form that brings more dimension to a space, and once turned on, shifts your energy to a warmer mood. Beautiful hardwoods are carefully selected, complimenting handcrafted lampshades that draw inspiration from Japanese oil paper. Unlike traditional lampshades, my textured paper shade allows light to diffuse through them, moving a warm, spherical glow in all directions.
Design
My first thoughts are often inspirations from other designers, artists and experiences. From there I like to take a little piece of all of them and combine what resonates most from each and bring them together. Sometimes it's nothing more than a feeling, or others, like my lampshades, are directly inspired by an early Akari Noguchi lamp.
I begin to sketch these ideas and start researching the possibilities of making them a reality.
Materials
I’ve chosen the finest hardwoods from lumber yards all over Southern California to complement my lighting. I’ve always been drawn to the warmth of wood and I find its organic quality a welcoming challenge to work with. Each piece has its own special grain structure which makes every light slightly unique from one another.
It's the little things that often mean the most in design. Brass compliments the warmth of my hardwoods and is often a hidden structure or less obvious accent. It's also beautiful to watch age.
Lampshade
It was important for me to find a lampshade that did not "shade" the light, rather allowing the light to diffuse through it and illuminate a space. I spent countless hours researching and testing a variety of different materials until I finally landed on a textured almost parchment like paper. This paper, once oiled, gives transparency to the material while adding more strength to its fibers.
Holding the paper lampshade together is a steam bent wood rim. Replacing a traditional metal ring, the wood gives structure while adding a special detail to the shade.
The Rustic White colored lampshade gives a modern touch to any light colored room, while the Golden Sand (seen here), once illuminated, brings exceptional warmth to any room.
Build
Each light is built in small batches in order to oversee the quality of every detail. Often, they are made to order.
Hand crafting the lampshades, milling down lumber and using fine hand tools to finish the wood takes time. Applying a linseed oil finish can take days to properly cure. All the electrical wiring based on a well-thought-out understanding of where each light switch should be placed.
There are no shortcuts to making a quality light and is what makes these lights transcend the ordinary and stand out among the rooms they illuminate.
