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By: Mary Merda
Website: http://www.lamps-n-lighting.com
Designer Elizabeth Whipple wants people who walk
into a room to look directly at her lamps.
I make my lamps to stand out, she said. You notice
them.
Especially if it's one from her Oasis line whose
base is made from camels' bones in North Africa,
or one from the Shiva line, which is shaped as
an ewer and etched in brass in India. Her E.W.
Design lamps were introduced in Houston, Los Angeles,
New York City, Chicago and here recently.
The San Franciscan designed the Orinoco clothing
line for eight years, then traveled around the
world for two years to find her next enterprise.
Everywhere she studied local design and sought
out artisans. I am really interested in the aesthetics
of furniture design and I saw a need for lamps
that had history, character and culture.
Whipple was attracted by both the materials and
the level of workmanship she found. In Turkey,
where her hammered copper lamps in the Pasha line
are made, a piece is valued by the number of hammer
strokes per square centimeter, '' she said.
I admire that artistry and the tradition that's
been handed down from generation to generation,
she said.
She was taken aback at first when hearing that
fine decorative mosaics in North Africa were made
with camel bones, but then she couldn't resist
the possibilities. The bones range in color from
true bone color to yellows and scarlets. Their
imperfections create the beauty in the piece.
The lamp shades are made of silk, each designed
specifically for its base.
At such retail prices, E.W. Designs lamps are
definitely for those who want to purchase a fine
piece as a focal point for a room.
You can put them in any room, Whipple said.
They are for someone who can appreciate that
what they have is a piece of art.
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