ClothShop by Christopher Farr Cloth presents Illuminating Worlds: Light as Storytelling for London Craft Week. A collaborative exhibition showcasing a series of one-off hand-crafted lampshades that reimagine its surface as a site for storytelling, where light reveals colour and narrative. Created in collaboration with leading contemporary artists and makers, each piece brings a distinct visual language, forming a body of work that sits between art and design. Paired with handcrafted bases by master makers, all lampshades are available to purchase online with proceeds supporting Bridges for Communities, a charity that connects people of different cultures and faiths, enabling them to build friendships, grow in their understanding of one another and live well with difference.

Lowen by Freya Marton of Black Lion Workshops

This piece draws on both natural observation and historical design references. Made from sustainably sourced tulipwood, the patterns were inspired by the wood’s circular seams as well as the textiles of Gunta Stölzl and the Bauhaus weavers. The pattern shifts and evolves rather than repeating mechanically, drawing from their belief that the loom could be treated more like a canvas than a rigidly ordered textile. Like a painting, Freya’s making process is intuitive and exploratory, with the final design of the lamp often only revealing itself after days of layering and refinement. Designed to feel timeless, the lamp combines a reassuringly solid base with a bold, intricate design. The precision of the design on the base is complimented by the looser free hand pattern on the shade. The colour palette is inspired by the colours seen outside Freya’s studio as the garden comes into flower in Spring.

Freya Marton is a London-based artist and maker and the founder of Black Lion Workshops, a studio dedicated to creating hand-painted lamps that bridge fine art and functional design. She established the practice in 2021 while studying Fine Art at Newcastle University, initially reworking second-hand lamps to give overlooked objects new life through painting and craft.

Each piece is developed through an iterative process of sanding, painting and refinement until the final design emerges. Her lamp bases are produced in the UK from FSC-certified tulipwood by a local carpenter, before being painted and finished by Marton and professionally wired.

Size: 16" fabric laminated lampshade
Fitting: Duplex ring (compatible with Spider pendant / Spider US Finial / Shade Carrier EU/GB)