Studio Lloyd is known for its organic light sculptures, handcrafted by crocheting rope around massive metal frames. Its founder talks to us about her design approach – and some exciting new ranges.
WORDS Steve Smith PHOTOS Jan Ras
It was a piece commissioned for Southern Guild’s “A New Wave” exhibition in 2016 that kicked off Ashlee Lloyd’s career. As part of a show that featured talented local designers under the age of 40, Ashlee created a light sculpture called “Molecular” by crocheting polypropylene multifilament rope of varying thickness into a voluminous chandelier-meets-sculpture. The scale, originality and organic feel of her piece drew media attention – and another light sculpture for what was then the Skotnes Restaurant at the Norval Foundation in Steenberg cemented her reputation. Some eight years later, Ashlee and director of operations Anne Halbedel, who joined in 2020, are Studio Lloyd – a design brand that’s renowned globally for its lighting, seating and objects. We visited Studio Lloyd’s Paarden Eiland premises, and spoke to Ashlee about her journey.
The Studio Lloyd Aesthetic
“My mom taught me how to crochet when I was little. I was always helping her, whether she was making clothing or plant holders. Studio Lloyd’s work is basically a manipulation of that technique. We use a single crochet for most of our products – a double crochet would look too chunky, and the light wouldn’t come through. We have to prepare exactly where we’re going to turn around, so that we know whether we’re going to create the right profile in just a few stitches.
“It’s about nailing the technique and then manipulating it. It’s quite exciting, because it makes every
project different. People ask for a sketch when they commission us to do something – and I provide
that – but the end result always looks a little different. It’s like an organic sculpting process.
“I’ve always been infatuated with the idea of negative space, so my light sculptures are more about the patterns they make than the physicality of the rope. When I created my first piece for Southern Guild, I used to work on it in my mother’s garage at night, so I could clearly see the light shining through the negative space of the crochet, and observe the patterns it made on the wall. With crochet, this element was always in play.
“The light sculptures are big on texture and the handmade aspect, but there’s also the fact that each piece looks quite different during the day from the way it does at night. We designed a piece for a Fox Browne Creative project in Namibia – it’s made from an alabaster-white rope, and at night, it turns into this golden, ephemeral spectacle.”
The Design Process
“I’m old-school – I do everything with pen and paper. Even though I studied it and I can work with CAD, I feel totally disconnected from drawing digitally. I sketch because I thoroughly enjoy it. After sketching out a light sculpture design, I send it to a draughtsman who works for us part-time. It comes back to me for confirmation, then I ensure it gets signed off by the client. The next step is to get the metal top view/profile laser-cut, reinforced and powder-coated; this forms the main structure that we crochet around. Prior to crocheting, though, we attach the lights and finish the detailing. Adding all the handmade elements is the last step.”
With Success Comes Many Decisions
“After the initial success of the light sculptures, I had to make a choice: either to make a business out of it, or to go the solo artist route, doing exhibitions every now and then. I thought to myself, ‘If I don’t take the business route, if I don’t hire or upskill people, if I don’t try to make a difference, I will always kick myself. I will never know what it would be like.’
Saundre Jantjies, Mike Nyamande, Chris Loucius and Shaun Wagner.
“For the past four years, we’ve done a lot of work for international clients who commission light sculptures. The downside has been that we can’t show many of these projects – especially our commissions for the Middle East. They go into residential spaces, and we have to sign NDAs.
“So in 2024, we decided we need to bring our focus back to the local market. We exhibited at Cape Town Furniture Week, as well as at Decorex in Cape Town and Joburg. Being so involved overseas, we also realised that everyone there is actually looking to Africa. Go to a café in London, for example, and you’ll more than likely hear African-inspired music playing. It’s an exciting time to be down here in the south!”
A Focus on Smaller Products…
“Most of our business is still in the commercial space, but even there not everyone has the budget to order a big light sculpture for the dining area. Our materials and the processes we use are on the expensive side, so we want to focus on ranges of smaller, more accessible pieces. We’re working to
make quality products that will be a little more affordable.
“We’ll also focus on selling various items through our website. We’re not opposed to selling via other stores – we’ve done it before – but it’s always about finding the right match. And we don’t want to dilute the brand by selling on every platform, either.”
…And On Metal
“The light sculptures have definitely influenced our smaller pieces. We have our technique down, we understand the materials, and we’re starting to play with reflecting and refracting the light. We’re also investigating different LED profiles. “We’re planning to start working more often with metal, such as copper mesh. We’ll retain the rope element, which is an integral part of our aesthetic, but we’ll also use metal profiles – something like a chain and mesh – to increase the dynamic nature of a piece. Unlike rope, which absorbs light, metal will bounce the light off and reflect it. It’s exciting – and there’s plenty of opportunity to play with different materials.”
More Outdoor Furniture in the Pipeline
“We’ll be releasing additional outdoor furniture next year – four- to six-people seating arrangements that include new dining chairs. Our outdoor daybed, which is very beautiful, is a statement piece that naturally tends to appeal more to our hospitality clientele – so our aim now is to capture the attention of the general public. The chairs will feature special upcycled rope, which we’ll be using as the primary material in our outdoor dining furniture.
“I’d also like to do more modular sofa-style arrangements – but that will be an expensive, time-consuming task, especially with the kinds of ideas I have in my head!“ | studiolloyd.com
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