Say hello to the Nico lamp, a bespoke co-design from The Bower’s workshop manager, Peter Owen and workshop facilitator, Luke Schepers. Designed with sustainability at heart and style in mind, the Nico lamp is crafted almost entirely out of repurposed materials, inspired by a very special donation from the family of one Nicolas Caloudis, or ‘Nico’. Nicolas Caloudis (1919 – 2000) was a cabinet maker and French polisher who grew up in Marsielle, France, later moving to Lyon. He left school to study cabinet making at the age of 14 and to support his mother and sister. Nicolas ran a small workshop in France for many years before setting sail for Australia in 1956. He managed to pack down his tools into a large workbench and screwed on timber panels to it to form a box suitable for shipping. Nico made transit cases for his style guides and veneers and somehow got everything onto a boat bound for Woolloomoolloo, Sydney. When asked why he brought so many materials over he replied that he knew it would all be used, “one day”. During his working life in Australia, Nico amassed quite a collection of local veneers and developed a passion for local timbers - Queensland Maple being one of his favourites. These bespoke ‘Nico’ lamps are made from the veneers that Nicolas’s family donated to The Bower. They bring closure to his wish to have the veneers crafted into furniture to be used and loved and we’re honoured to be part of this process. “At The Bower we see all sorts of beautiful bits and pieces come through,” says Pete. “With the black wood veneers used on this lamp, it was an all-too-common story: the material was beautiful, the story was beautiful, but what to do with it?” “Luke and I decided we had to frame the veneer in a context that shared with everyone else the beauty we saw. Maybe then, these materials wouldn’t go to waste. Maybe Nicolas’s story would live on.” “These lamps are what we came up with.” If not for the forced closure of The Bower’s workshop and retail spaces in response to the NSW lockdown restrictions, it’s doubtful that Pete and Luke would have had the time to develop their reflections into a beautiful, bespoke, material object. More than just a lamp, Nico invites us to re-think waste; to reach into our imaginations and consider how items can be given another life instead of being thoughtlessly discarded. Each lamp is unique and hand crafted from resources at hand at Bower Woodworks. Lamps can be customized to a point. Limited run of 12. Materials Shade - Reclaimed Blackwood Base & Stand - Various hardwoods or ply for a more contemporary design Wiring – Repurposed from items donated to The Bower Switches & Sockets - New Dimensions Approx 400mm high x 200mm wide
