The Story Behind Shore

To mark the advent of our new table lamp series, Shore, we consider the transformative power of taking a waste material and turning it into something extraordinary.

Shore was originally conceived as a way of repurposing excess glass material produced during the manufacturing process. Over the years, the design team at Tala have explored ways to tell this story through various forms – from playful vases to new and elaborate light fixtures and bulb shapes.

The design, however, was staring us in the face. Referencing the ‘bulb blank’ – the form of the glass vessel that is eventually cut and sealed to create the light bulb – the designers decided to pay homage by recreating the shape of the base and topping it with a spherical light source where the bulb shape would typically emerge.

Crafted using the mouth-blown technique, the glass base is made from recycled post-industry and post-consumer glass, combined with a small amount of virgin glass to give it its colourful allure.

When deciding on the colour, texture and finish of the final pieces, the team drew inspiration from the unique hues and tones found in glass shards salvaged from our shorelines. This ingenious approach helped to showcase how material can be given new life and purpose, while reinforcing the product’s central ethos of recycling and reuse.

This narrative extended into the product names – Bottle brown, Sea green, and Smoke grey – recalling the colours and histories of these mysterious glass shards: brandy bottles, apothecary jars and old medicine flasks.

By referencing and celebrating the bulb’s pre-cut and unsealed state, the lamp exudes a humble beauty and simplicity, while urging us to contemplate the significance of resource conservation.

Shore elegantly reminds us of the potential for brilliance in sustainable living, where waste becomes wonderful and conscious choices can help create a brighter future.

Dan Carpenter, designer says:

“With Shore, we wanted to celebrate the elegant form of our glass ‘bulb blanks’ before they are transformed into light bulbs. The stem of the lamp represents a section of mouth-blown glass vessel, which is usually separated and recycled during bulb production. To complement the product story, we selected some familiar colours inspired by the soft fragments of glass found while combing the shoreline. Sea glass is a waste product that is also beautiful, and we felt it was an appropriate anchor for the series.”

How you styled Shore.

 Photography: @Melanielissacksinteriors + @so__juli