Spanish luxury brand Lladro has launched a new collection of lamps created in collaboration with Japanese designer Hisakazu Shimizu, president of S&O Design.

The lamps are inspired by historical Japanese characters and their unique hairstyles, on which the artist has based part of his work. 

The porcelain is decorated in black and white with a gloss finish while the lampshades, which are made of Murano glass, are inspired by the Sandogasa, a wide traditional straw travelling hat worn in medieval Japan on long journeys when the face would be exposed to the elements for long periods of time. 

The lampshades are handmade with several layers of blown glass - some transparent and others in white. The smooth rounded base is made in satin black lacquered wood and comes with a golden plaque with the Lladro flower logo.

A vase made in 1950.

Set up in 1953, Lladro is dedicated to the creation of art porcelain figurines. Each piece is entirely handcrafted in Valencia (Spain), in the brand’s only workshop in the world, and exported to more than 120 countries. The company has been active in the Middle East since the late 1980s. Its customers are collectors and also interior designers. 

“The demand for our products has been growing steadily and especially since that we opened our first mono brand boutique in Dubai Mall four years ago,” says Rosa Lladro, chairperson and member of the board of directors. 

The company is looking at opening more mono brand stores outside the UAE. All its creations, especially its collection of horses, are doing very well in this region, according to Lladro. With almost 50 unique pieces in total, the ‘horse’ collection comes in different shapes and forms: galloping, leaping, trotting, posing majestically or simply at rest. The range captures the spirit of the horse and Lladro’s world-renowned porcelain-making techniques.

“The Middle East is a fabulous source of inspiration for our sculptors. Pieces such as The Queen of the Nile, based on the marvellous Egyptian culture, or the horse Pure Arabian Breed or even the use of golden lustres to decorate some of our creations are inspired from this region,” she adds.

Lladro says the process of making its creations entails extensive effort as all its “pieces are the result of an amazing handcrafted process. We offer a product to unique standards of quality, 100 per cent made in Spain. All our pieces are handmade following an entirely artisan process. From the initial sketches to the final firing at high temperatures, each step in the process is carried out by artists and artisans”.

She attributes the company’s success and popularity to its “particular vision of art combining with a perfect balance of beauty, feeling and symbolism. The brand is always in a constant evolution since it was founded by my uncles and father in the 1950s. Over the last few years our pieces reflect our studies and our eagerness to improve, making new colours, having a better control of the porcelain, giving new proposals. We continue working on traditional topics like childhood, friendship, love, and we are also coming up with pieces linked to other traditional cultures,” Lladro adds.