Mala Hängelampe von Werajane Design

Alluring, one-of-a-kind geometric lampshades from werajane utilize handcraft techniques to chic effect, referencing 1970s aesthetics and au courant color palettes. Werajane came into being in Leipzig, Germany, in 2016, when its founder, Inga-Wera-Jane Heymann (b. 1994), took a break from education to start her own project of designing lampshades. A native of Cologne, she studied Egyptology and has a strong eye for the visual, having also worked as a model and photographer. Her design approach is influenced by the “UFO-style” lampshades of the 1970s, which she fuses with geometric color-blocking in rich but earthy contrasting hues.

Each lamp is unique, made to order, and completely handmade. Their painted structural frames are produced by a local metal workshop, and Heymann hand-weaves these in her studio with Italian cotton thread. She makes lamps in a variety of styles and sizes, including pendants and table lamps. From a distance, they resemble ancient, angular vases, and they range in depth and height from the relatively shallow “flying saucer” shapes to more elongated lanterns.

The manufacturing process of each lamp can take up to 25 hours. Much of her success in this respect results from her thoughtful approach and commitment to color composition, using a palette that incorporates elegant beiges and grays, sea-blues and turquoises, and warm reds and yellows. Such combinations ensure that the lamps are as appealing by day as they are by night, when their produce a softly slatted, atmospheric light. Heymann gets inspiration from a variety of sources, including music, and always has a sketchbook to hand. She participated in IMM Cologne 2016 and Designers Open Leipzig 2017 and is planning to soon expand into ceramics, which, given her acute sense of functional form and attention to color, seems like a natural progression.