In the Details: How to Transform a 220-Pound Block of Granite Into a Lamp Shade
Posted in: In the Details
When choosing materials for a delicate hanging light, granite might not be your first choice. Not so for the Spanish designer André Simón Soneira, who decided to use the weighty material to create MIKA 350, a lamp that is just as beautiful to behold as it was challenging to make.
With this project, Soneira wanted to create a product that spoke to his identity as a designer, resonating with his traditions and heritage. Soneira hails from a region of northwest Spain called Galicia, known for its granite repositories. With strong Celtic influences, Galicia has a long tradition of mining and processing granite for different uses and has many rare types, including Pink Porriño, Gray Mondariz and Silvestre. “Galicia and its cities smell like stone,” Soneira says. “When it’s raining, the smell invades every street. … If Galicia were a lamp, it would be MIKA 350.”
Soneira (center) with the lamp-shade craftsman, Esteban (left), and a colleague from Soneira’s studio. All photos by Lino Escuris.
A look at the production process behind MIKA 350
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