Macheia

In collaboration with Lisbon based studio Macheia, Otzi designed and crafted a standing lamp inspired by the traditional Portuguese-Galician adufe drum, made from timber and vellum parchment leather.

We were approached to collaborate with Macheia on a project that looked into the various uses of animal hide, a material that has been utilised for millennia. Focusing on rawhide, in particular calfskin and goatskin vellum and parchment, the studios looked at the material qualities related to light and illumination of the skins to highlight the character, grain and celebrate the origin of the material.

The Adufe drum has a strikingly simple geometry but also doubles as the perfect body for the light . Balancing one tower on top of another pivoting around a central pole allows the individual sections of the lamp to be moved, casting light in a full rotation.

The calfskin vellum was sourced from one of the world’s best and last parchment and vellum producers, William Cowley. It is immaculately hand finished to produce an incredibly strong, clean and beautiful surface. The frames, base and switch body are solid English oak, with oak bark tanned bridle leather details.