OCHRE‘s ‘Seed Cloud’ chandelier is a beautifully-made piece which is more like a sculpture than a light. Although it has a clean and contemporary feel, it’s hand-made using an ancient technique, the lost wax process. These pictures were taken by Kristin Perers during a day spent with the craftsmen in Ochre’s workshops.
The photos show the skill and intensive labour involved in the lost wax process. The making of the silicon moulds, the pouring of the molten wax, the opening of the silicon moulds, the plaster moulds, the kiln, the bronze put to melt in the crucible, poured, and then finally the plaster mould hammered open to release the cast bronze stem. Only then can the soldering, finishing and assembling begin.
The magical finished product.The modern technology is invisible to the eye – each bulb is in fact an LED light.
The Seed Cloud comes in other versions, round and rectangular. The smallest has only three buds, the largest 112.
Ochre have been invited to be a salon designer at this year’s glamorous Masterpiece fair which runs from 27 June to 3 July at The Royal Hospital Chelsea, London SW3.