SEEING THE LIGHT
For contemporary yet long-lasting lighting, choose designs that are as sustainable as they are striking
Ever since starting his brand as an ambitious graduate in 2008, Tom Raffield has had one mission in mind: to create timeless lighting and furniture in the most environmentally friendly way possible. He’s done so by focusing on natural materials and time-honoured manufacturing processes, with each of his designs handmade in his Cornish workshop by a small and passionate team of craftspeople.
Sculptural wooden lighting, influenced by the local landscape and by classic Scandinavian design, is key. Wood is a medium that show cases the full potential of Tom’s signature steam-bending technique, which he’s been fascinated with since his student days at Falmouth School of Art. Using timbers such as oak, birch, ash and walnut fashioned into elegant loops and ribbons, his lamps are equally striking whether they’re switched on or off. Every silhouette creates a different effect, from the rippled pools of light produced by the ‘Drift’ pendant (inspired by the motion of Cornish tides) to the patterned rays cast by the petals of the ‘Urchin’ shade and the soft, restful glow of the ‘Mullion’ floor light, with its minimalist curves.
Steam-bending has been used in all sorts of ways over the centuries, from making boats to musical instruments and furniture. It takes time to accomplish: strips of timber are naturally air-dried, then heated to make them flexible and bent to form complex shapes. This painstaking process produces subtly different results each time, so every light is unique. And in keeping with Tom’s eco-friendly ethos, no toxic glues are used – instead, the lights are finished with screws, staples and brass rivets. His designs are made exclusively from responsibly sourced, certified-sustainable timbers, with careful attention paid to reducing the brand’s carbon footprint and to ethical woodland management. Wastage is kept to a minimum, with any timber offcuts passed on to a local toymaker and gardening project for reuse.
Even packaging is thoughtfully designed. Almost 100 per cent plastic-free, it’s made from Forest Stewardship Council-approved cardboard and recycled paper, and produced as part of a pack-share initiative, sharing surplus stocks with other companies to eliminate waste. ‘I believe that sustainability should be synonymous with good design, just as quality and function are,’ Tom explains. ‘We want to make our designs as good as they can be, so they’ll last a lifetime.’
MADE BY STEAM-BENDING TIMBERS INTO ELEGANT LOOPS AND RIBBONS, THESE LIGHTS ARE EQUALLY STRIKING WHETHER SWITCHED ON OR OFF