Another timeless design from willowlamp, the new Stalactite chandelier is set to rock the global design stage
The company continues to redefine the way luxury lighting is designed, produced, and tailored to create unique spaces. From indigenous and unique flowers such as the Protea, to enchanted forests, conical seashells, rivers, storms, galaxies and now, ancient caves, willowlamp’s unique design methodology knows no bounds.
The new chandelier boasts the company’s patented and fastener-free notch system which allows for the flow of curtains, veils, or latticework of straight, looped, or willowed metal ball chains. These flow elegantly from laser-cut steel frames to create an infinite variety of nature-inspired lighting designs.
Telling the stories captured in nature
Born in South Africa, by the cradle of humankind, in Africa, Adam Hoets, Founder & Creative Director of willowlamp, is driven to celebrate the geometrical shapes and abstracted extrusions inspired by the nature found on this sacred continent.
The walls of caves are known to tell tales of life — from cavemen drawings to engravings. Hoets believes that nature itself has a story to tell and each design strives to ignite these stories through shape and form to celebrate creation, and ultimately, love.
The new Stalactite chandelier is inspired by one of the world’s heritage sites, the Cango Caves, which is enormous and dripping with gigantic stalactites. A stalactite is an icicle-shaped formation that hangs from the ceiling of a cave. It is subsequently produced by the precipitation of minerals from water dripping through the cave ceiling.
Most stalactites have pointed tips. Stalactites take their name from the Greek word ‘to drip’. In fact, this is how they are formed, through mineral deposits dripping through water streams.
In keeping with the spirit of timeless design that surpasses and uplifts any trend, stalactites form extremely slowly. As such, radiometric dating has shown that some are hundreds of thousands of years old.
Similarly, careful consideration has gone into every curvature of this chandelier. The pleated ball chain curtaining is engineered to form a luxurious layer upon layer for the overall formation. This subsequently creates the sense of a stalactite dripping from the ceiling and stretching towards the floor.
The primary inspiration behind this design was driven by a desire to recreate the surface texture of these formations, the rippling striations and convoluted textures that build up on the surface of stalactites over many centuries.
Adam Hoets, Designer
A moving artwork
Furthermore, each lamp is a moving sculpture. Each is intended to be fully integrated into its surrounding, spreading an interactive and enchanting play of light between the lamp and the space around it as well as with those experiencing the space.
These illuminated sculptural art pieces reshape interior spaces using organic form and the movement of light. They subsequently create a textured and organic ambience that brings the outdoors, indoors, to their chosen spaces.
These hand-assembled products receive individual attention to every detail. Each piece sits at the precise point where sculptural art, nature’s sacred symmetry and luxurious design, meet as a way to interpret natural beauty.
Clients turn to willowlamp for their aesthetic input to overcome design challenges. Many appreciate the scope of the team’s design flexibility through unique design methodology and knowing their creativity and artisanal skills help deliver completely customised and award-winning, one-of-a-kind, lighting fixtures.
Everything dreams. The play of form, of being, is the dreaming of substance. Rocks have their dreams, and the earth changes.
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven
