Dezeen Showroom: Derbyshire-based designer Roland Smith has created a three-finned timber table lamp informed by the shape of tropical plants.
Designed as an alternative to other "awkward" timber lamps, Smith devised the form of the Swallowtail light based on the sleek yet sturdy structure of tropical flora.
The Swallowtail table lamp by Roland Smith has a three-finned design
"All of my table lamp bases to date have a three-finned design to them," explained Smith.
"The original inspiration for this was from the many tropical plants, which have a similar structure," he continued.
"I wanted to employ the strength and stability that these plants exhibit. But in particular, it was the way those properties were combined with an elegant lack of mass which drew me in ? I was trying to achieve the complete opposite of the bulky awkwardness I have observed in most wooden lighting." Shades are available in red gum, walnut or sycamore
The lamp's three-pronged timber base is available in ebonised, reclaimed mahogany, maple or walnut. It reaches up to support a shade made from a natural fabric mix of hemp and silk, which is covered in a timber veneer made from either red gum, walnut or sycamore.
"The three different woods I selected for my natural lampshades were chosen for the way in which they each evoke a slightly different emotion," explained Smith.
"While it is true that all of them seem to emphasise relaxation more than any o...