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Dancer is a new lighting collection created by furniture and lighting design studio Coco Flip in collaboration with Melbourne-based ceramicist Belinda Wiltshire.
The collection was developed via an organic design process, working with Belinda’s own aesthetic and incorporating lighting as seamlessly as possible, without interrupting the artist’s elegant ceramic forms.
‘We’re really merging the worlds of craft and design here and needed to find the right balance,’ says Coco Flip co-founder Kate Stokes.
Belinda and Kate have a mutual interest in the Bauhaus movement, and began looking to the costumes from the Triadisches Ballet (conceived in 1912 by Bauhaus school master Oskar Schlemmer) for inspiration.
They aimed to embody the same sense of play and freedom as the ballet in their collection, expressed through Belinda’s black iron oxide brushwork.
‘It’s so beautiful to watch her steady hand brush the inky lines onto these pieces,’ says Kate.
The actual lights also incorporate movement to further emphasise their association with dance, and improve their functionality.
Describing the Table Lamp, Kate explains, ‘The light can be manipulated by tilting the shade, throwing light onto a wall or directly down onto a table.
‘This movement presented some technical challenges for us, but I’m so pleased we were able to work through it.’
Each piece in the Coco Flip x Belinda Wiltshire Dancer collection is wheel thrown, hand finished, and fired by Belinda in her Preston studio resulting in unique brush marks and forms.
The collection includes table lamps, wall lights, cylinder and mounted ceiling lights in various sizes and three striped finishes: wide, thin, and spaced.
‘We didn’t want to lose that beautiful handmade variation between each piece,’ says Kate.
The Dancer collection is available now and will evolve with new pieces over time.