LUCIENT by Leila Atelier and Stock Woodworks

WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Supplied

Leila Atelier and Stock Woodworks’ new collaborative lighting collection LUCIENT was born from the designers’ mutual love for natural materials, warm ambient lighting and the timeless elegance of Japanese forms.

Leila Atelier and Stock Woodworks’ passions for weaving and carpentry combine to create LUCIENT – a unique, handcrafted lighting collection imbued with the embodied energy of hand-worked materials.

“The initial spark for the collection began during a trip to Europe in late 2021 when the trend of lobster cage-style pendants with the fabric wrapped around it was really at its peak,” says Leila, founder of the hand crafted textile studio Leila Atelier. “I was drawn to the softness of the cloth, supported by a wooden frame and the light that they gave off if looking at them side on from a distance, but after lying under one at an Airbnb for several nights, disturbed by the exposed bulb, the desire to create a pendant using cloth with a curved bottom so that you’d never have that exposed catching your eye began.”

As a textile designer, Leila is interested in the properties of cloth and developing products which play to their strengths and as a weaver, she has the added joy of being able to develop new material possibilities. “The cloth used in the LUCIENT collection is an interplay between dense and looser areas, defined by the variation in pressure applied while weaving, a truly inimitable feature of hand-woven cloth. This creates a variegated transparency which plays beautifully with light,” she explains.

The use of natural materials is a non-negotiable in both Leila and Greg Stock’s practices. “I chose to use cotton for the cloth as it is a locally produced yarn, which is simultaneously light, sturdy and serviceable. Greg chose to use white oak due to its local availability, characteristic strength and durability and we felt that the lightness complimented the cloth quite beautifully,” says Leila. “Brass has always been a signature detail for my studio. It felt fortuitous when Greg presented an elegant brass hardware solution to our primary technical challenge of how to make the cloth removable for washing.”

For inspiration Leila often looks at architecture and interiors, marinating in the kinds of spaces she would like her work to live in, and the kind of feeling she would like it to evoke. “On these inspirational adventures, I often find myself in worlds surrounded by shoji screens, which create such a light, simple yet rich, timelessly elegant sense of harmony,” she explains.  Between these spaces and Noguchi’s legendary archive of lighting, the Japanese aesthetic has been deeply embedded in LUCIENT from early on, says Leila: “When Greg, another huge warm light fan, came on board we started exploring how wood could create structural support in the most simple yet effective way to the partially translucent, soft cloth, the Japanese influence became undeniably apparent. I think the true Japanese influence comes more from our mutual philosophy and approach to our crafts, founded on principles of simplicity, honouring of natural material, time-honoured craft practices and attention to detail.”

LUCIENT features a floor-standing Pillar, two Pendants and a table lamp. Each form is fitted with high-quality electrical components, brass hardware and a specially refined removable cloth system for ease of living and longevity.

“I feel that these lights are like the material expression of a gentle sigh. In their simplicity, along with the diffused, gentle light that emanates from them, they both create a warmness and very calming effect to the nervous system, something I think we can all do with more of these days,” says Leila.

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