
This year at the outstanding Clerkenwell Design Week, Curiousa & Curiousa are displaying an atmospheric collection of large scale silk lanterns. Mostly known for their colorful and delicate hand-blown glass lights, their latest design focuses on the translucent natural material of Dupion silk, as they merge imagery of English gardens with the influence of traditional Chinese lanterns.

Clerkenwell Design Week: Ume Lantern Outdoors. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa
Curiousa & Curiousa designs and manufactures hand-blown glass lighting from its Derbyshire workshop and has a showroom in Chelsea, London. Esther Patterson, their designer and founder, has a real passion for all things British-made and for the finest craftsmanship, so she is very proud to be part of this rescuer of traditional British crafting techniques.

Clerkenwell Design Week: Ume Lantern Trio Outdoors. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa
Esther launched her business in 2010 having graduated as a mature student with a first-class degree in Decorative Arts. Her first studio was a caravan parked on the family drive. At university she initially specialized in fabric and wallpaper design and slip cast bone-china table lamps. She would spend many hours experimenting – piecing together different cast forms in various formations. She was then given an opportunity to work with a glass blower and found her true passion.

Clerkenwell Design Week: Ume Lantern Trio Outdoors. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa
This nature-inspired series was created using designer Esther Patterson’s original drawings and paintings of wildflowers and plants in the Derbyshire countryside as well as her own personal garden. The lantern comes in a choice of six prints, including flourishing gardens with peonies and irises and chinoiserie landscapes.

Clerkenwell Design Week: Ume Lantern in Interior Design. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa

Clerkenwell Design Week: Ume Lantern in Interior Design. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa

Clerkenwell Design Week: Ume Lantern in Interior Design. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa
Each lighting design is carefully handmade to order by talented master artisans, with knowledge and skill built over years of experience and centuries of tradition.

Ume Lantern’s Beautiful Patterns. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa

Ume Lantern’s Beautiful Patterns. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa

Ume Lantern’s Delicate Silk. Photo: ©Curiousa and Curiousa
Stay with us to find out more about Clerkenwell Design Week 2019 and the best of contemporary art, design and craftsmanship.
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