Rakumba Design Collaborations launches designs by Simone LeAmon
Launched over two premier design and trade events in Melbourne and Sydney, the Rakumba Design Collaborations releases Project 01: Ricotta by Simone Leamon 2011.
When Simone LeAmon and the managing director of Rakumba Lighting Michael Murray met in 2009 they hatched a unique idea for a design residency. With a view to developing a collection of feature lighting for the Rakumba brand they devised an immersive program for the exchange of manufacturing know-how and design ideas.
With a heritage in hand crafted lampshades Rakumba is a leading Australian manufacturer of custom-made lighting. Founded in 1968, the Company is renown for their bespoke production and ability to prototype and manufacture on-site.
Two years on and RICOTTA, the first of the distinctive lighting designs by LeAmon for Rakumba was revealed at Lightsource 21-14 July and Saturday Indesign 19-20 August in a dedicated presentation of Australian design and manufacturing at District 01: Darlinghurst.
About Ricotta
“Inspired by the people who have dedicated their working lives to making lampshades, my role was to conceptualise and develop designs that could speak of the Rakumba culture.”
Ricotta is feature lamp inspired by the extraordinary talents and abilities of the Rakumba staff. Making the wire frames for all lampshades by hand, LeAmon was inspired to design a lamp that celebrated the skill of the Rakumba wire fabricators.
“With a spot-welder and collection of old school jigs he could whip up a beautiful wire frame in no time but frames are the under carriage of a lamp shade and rarely seen. I suggested we design a shade that showed-off his talent for making by expressing the wire on the outside. He thought I was joking but I could tell he liked the idea.”
The name Ricotta stems from the grid pattern created by the vertical pleats and horizontal wires on the shade. Resembling the pattern on a ricotta cheese mould, this delightful reference was pointed out by the craftswomen at Rakumba who work as a team to pleat the delicate cotton shade.
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