Przemek Krawczyński creates artful lamps that light up the room, creating unique patterns of light and shadow. A work of art, on top of being a source of light, his lamps are created out of dried gourd – a tropical fruit originating from Africa and Asia.
Born and raised in Poland, Krawczyński has his mom to thank for introducing him to the unique fruit. “In 2009 thanks to my mom, for the first time in my life, I accidentally came across the gourd fruit,” he recalled on his website. “As soon as I made my first gourd lamp for myself, I knew that I wanted to make another one.”
Exploring this craft and the play of light, the mesmerizing way in which it can change an ordinary interior into a warm, enchanted landscape, soon became his greatest passion. Completely handmade, his chosen gourds are collected from Senegal, Guinea, and Mali.
By day, his lamps are a unique sculpture, but at night they come alive by the light seeping through intricately carved wood and passing through thousands of holes. Ornamental shadows fill the space, casting the patterns on the walls. “Though I am the architect of the lamp’s shape and pattern, the artisan who puts life in it, the light is a surprise, an illusion made real,” writes Krawczyński, “it never brings boredom for it changes with every move of its source.”
Creating this handcrafted lighting requires patience and precision at every stage of the work. Making one lamp usually takes him between 3-5 months of work, adding up to about 2-3 lamps per year. “For me, the quality, the perfection of the finished lamp, self-fulfillment, and satisfaction from my work are most crucial – they are more important than the number of lamps I can create,” he writes. ” That is why I never repeat their patterns; each of my handmade lamps is matchless, extraordinary and will not be imitated in the future.”
