Every year, a plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, commonly referred to as PET, is used to produce around 600 billion bottles and other packaging. Think juice containers, detergent jugs, soft jars, and shampoo bottles, plus myriad other items like carpeting, synthetic fabrics, and industrial applications. Tons upon tons of these single-use plastics end up in landfills or even floating in the ocean.
Spanish design firm PET Lamp set out give another purpose to these otherwise short-lived materials. Partnering with artisans in communities from Chile to Ethiopia to Australia, the company celebrates both Indigeneity and sustainability, drawing upon time-honored global craft traditions while supporting local economies and recycling discarded materials.
Pictured here are the studio’s woven Gurunsi lamps, made in special-order batches in the remote community of Bolgatanga, Ghana. This is the capital of Gurunsi culture and is known for its clay homes, which women paint with elaborate geometric patterns. PET Lamp commissioned artisans with basket-weaving skills to create unique, sprawling textiles that, once shipped to the company’s headquarters in Spain, are fitted with electrical elements and hardware.
PET Lamp is deeply involved in the making process and ensures it’s a mutually positive partnership by beginning with three questions: “Is a collaboration logistically possible? Is there a strong weaving tradition that we can elevate through collaboration? And will this project be of benefit to the artisans?”
Local Indigenous design inspires the fixtures’ forms. Gurunsi lamps are influenced by Ghanaian vernacular architecture, while Thailand-made bamboo shades called Pikul take their cue from the Spanish cherry tree’s flowers, which are found all over Southeast Asia and are often represented in regional arts and crafts. The colorful Eperara Siapidara, a series produced in Colombia, reimagines traditional geometric motifs.
Find more on PET Lamp’s website.
