An elegant floor lamp as a symbiosis of traditional Chinese craftsmanship, modern style, and the latest in lighting technology – lasfera has created a timelessly beautiful lamp with MOOLIN.
The base and the lampshade are made by hand from bent bamboo poles that are shaped from a bamboo splint, thus the base of the floor lamp is connected with the lamp as a unit. This lamp structure makes the base a central component instead of a secondary one. The surfaces of the bamboo poles are oiled and thus free of chemical treatments. But MOOLIN is not only impressive as a designer item. Like every lasfera product, MOOLIN also tells a story.
The story of MOOLIN begins either many thousands of years ago… or in 2006, depending on your perspective! In 2006, Svenja and Henri Garbers, the brains behind lasfera, began to work intensively with the culture of traditional regional craftsmanship in China.
They were particularly interested in a special bamboo bending technique that inspired an elliptical lighting shape from bent bamboo poles. Initial designs came about, but the pair was still a long way from executing them. They still needed raw materials of the best quality for their lamps – and masters of the craft who could professionally process their craftwork and the material. Bamboo, a material that has deep cultural roots in China, is often pressed into panels today; quality does not play an important role.
A manufacturer who could ensure the required quality was eventually found. They now only needed to find a source of artisans could turn their ideas into reality. This also led to a long search because bamboo weaving, like so many traditional craftwork techniques, is on the decline in the booming Chinese market. A fitting partner was found in the Chen family artisan business in the small village of Qingxin County near Shenzhen. The village is situated with scenic appeal in the middle of bamboo groves and rice fields. The cultivation and processing of a particularly fast-growing and at the same time thickwalled type of bamboo has a tradition here.
The Chen family has dedicated itself to bamboo weaving since the mid-90s. Five to eight adult employees, all family members, make up the business. The secure income from the lasfera cooperation allows their daughters to have a good education.
The final design of MOOLIN lamps arose from dialogue between designers and artisan craftsmen. The objective was to optimally harmonise the creative vision with the production opportunity. Ultimately a design came about which was suited to the bamboo material and at the same time conveyed the workmanship skill of the bamboo weaver – and which would have global appeal for design connoisseurs.
Each individual lamp is a handmade original with individual, authentic character. MOOLIN is a lamp with soul – and that can be seen and felt, because the bamboo material “lives.”
