From centuries porcelain has been used to create diffusers that create a warm and natural atmosphere. Porcelain is a noble, delicate material. Getting the right sort of light requires a specific thickness. Each shade is individually produced using a process that takes time and requires the hands of expert craftspeople. This delicate process creates a unique object akin to a candle in terms of its shape, texture and warmth of light.
Shades are often polished on the outside but have a matte finish on the inside. The interior matte finish keeps the light from bouncing off so that it is uniformly projected. A shiny exterior finish allows the light to be reflected, thus enhancing its volume.
Something magical happens when a porcelain shade placed over a light source: the light tinges the white porcelain golden. From the simplicity of its structure to each point of light, the delicacy of its warm radiance makes a perfect light pendant.
Porcelain and Light from Santa & Cole.
The video above shows how two-century-old company Sargadelos produces shades for Santa & Cole's Cirio lamp. Designed by Antoni Arola in 2010, this lamp consists of a LED capsule and a porcelain shade: it is an object that blends technology and artisanship, innovation and traditional craft.
Sargadelos is a ceramics company that also champions the promotion of the arts, local craftsmanship and the dissemination of Galician culture. Since 1960s Sargadelos came to stand for avant-garde work, taking over from Laboratorio de Formas in Galicia in its pursuit of objects that fuse art and function.
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Another great ceramist workshop is Apparatu. Apparatu was founded by industrial designer Xavier Mañosa just five years ago. In that short time, he has become one of the most up and coming ceramicists of his generation. Until 2009, Mañosa lived and worked in Berlin, from where he returned to the family workshop located in an old industrial estate in Barcelona. He transformed the factory from producing merely ceramic products for the building industry to a focal point for antiques, which gives it a most inspiring atmosphere. The Pleat Box series he created for Marset has been a huge success since the introduction in 2011.
What fundamentally distinguishes Mañosa as a modern-day ceramicist is his boldness when it comes to combining different materials and exploring new forms of expression. He participates in numerous exhibitions and promotional events both inside Spain and elsewhere.
