The lovely assonance of the names Océane Delain and Béatrice Durandard is enough to make Longfellow, or Frost, or even Eliot take a good long listen. They’d be pleased with what they’d find, even though the pair’s collection of Aura Lamps would call on the poets’ faculties of sight rather than sound. Though that’s not entirely true either, since these wonderful lightpieces of woven rattan have a pronounced textural appeal too. A close-up of an example of Aura reveals the intricacy of the technique: tiny strands overlap and intersect, compiling a uniform whole that looks solid from a few paces off—but a quick flip of the switch belies that notion.

Aura Lamps.

Handcrafted Lamps with a Modern Aesthetic

The truth is that the handcrafted nature of the Aura Lamps leaves in its wake a warp and weave of perforations, thus allowing the LEDs within and behind this handiwork to shine brightly through, creating the distinctive haloed nimbus that makes Aura a one-of-a-kind. The effect is altered depending on the display. Perched on high in a room as black as pitch, Aura has a mysterious aura indeed, resembling the iconic flying saucer as it descends upon the wary folk gaping skyward from a farmed-out field; mounted on the wall, with it’s no frills electrical cord hung down beneath, it looks just like the happiest of late summer sunflowers, or the largest of lollipops ever to inhabit dreams.

About the Manufacturer: designers Océane Delain and Béatrice Durandard founded Aura not long after they finished their studies at, respectively, The ENSCI, Ecole Nationnale Supérieur en Création Industrielle; and The ECAL, Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne. They met during an internship with IKEA in Almhult, Sweden, where in between official stints for the “range Strategy and Design,” they began to formulate their vision for Aura: product development to promote local design, local artisans, and local craft; slow, deliberate, handmade work; economical, ethical, and ecological design. All Aura lamps are exclusive, handmade items… “sold on demand and made on measure to suit your interior.”

Photos via Yanko Design.