Concept
Lucerna & Obscura investigate the regenerative and narrative potential of salmon leather within contemporary lighting design. The project repositions fish skin not as a novel luxury material, but as one with cultural continuity, shaped by ancestral knowledge and ecological care.
In contrast to commercial framings that overlook its lineage, this body of work builds upon tanning traditions practiced by Sámi and Ainu communities, adapting them into a slow, replicable process using accessible, biodegradable ingredients. The resulting fish leather artefacts are not merely functional but act as carriers of history, revealing the richness of a material often dismissed as waste.
The paired outcomes; Lucerna and Obscura; embody a conceptual duality. Lucerna is a luminous spiral form, inspired by scrolls and manuscript unrollings, with five embroidered motifs that flow through its translucent surface. Obscura stands in contrast: a dark, hexagonal monolith that conceals its internal structure until illuminated, its spirals revealed only in light. Together, they explore memory, transformation, and cultural continuity; not only through their shapes and stitching, but in how they hold, conceal, and transmit light.
Accompanying these artefacts are a set of supporting materials: a transparent sample board, a coded tagging system, and a printed tanning process booklet; each offering tools for others to engage with and reproduce the process, and to understand fish leather as a practice, not just a surface.
Material Process
All fish skins used in the project were locally sourced waste materials from kind Edinburgh-based fishmongers, collected through a collaborative relationship that emphasised regenerative design, transparency, and community exchange.
An adapted tanning method was developed through iterative testing, using black tea, white vinegar, jojoba oil, and beeswax, referencing natural approaches found in Indigenous practices. This process preserved translucency and flexibility, while offering a chrome-free, fully biodegradable alternative to industrial tanning.
Extensive dye experiments followed, testing both historic and invented formulations; from onion skin and iron sulphate to red cabbage and bicarbonate of soda; each indexed and presented on a sample board for accessibility and replication.
A parallel investigation into cod skin highlighted the material’s unsuitability for this application, reinforcing the choice of salmon as a structurally and visually appropriate leather.
The finalised process is documented in the accompanying printed booklet: Salmon Leather: Contemporary Adaptations of Traditional Techniques, serving both as a pedagogical resource and a form of material advocacy.
Lamp Fabrication
Lucerna’s form was shaped from rolled and soldered steel rods, creating a dynamic spiral frame that references scrollwork and storytelling. The cross-supports were custom-cut based on each fish skin’s unique curve and width, while the visible bulb reinforces the idea of light as revelation.
Obscura, by contrast, was constructed from hexagonal steel components, precise and grounded. Six dyed panels enclose a hidden bulb, with its symbolism revealed only when lit. The interior ring, positioned 50mm above the base, subtly conceals the light source; enhancing its introspective character.
Both lamps rest on turned yew bases, cut from log blanks and treated with Danish oil and beeswax. The unique purple tones of the wood became an unexpected material echo of the skin itself, reinforcing the project’s theme of natural variation and material integrity.
Panels were hand-whipstitched and cross-stitched to their frames using 2mm black waxed cotton thread, while embroidery was applied using a CAD embroidery machine. Lucerna’s five symbols tell a story of transformation from water to craft to future. Obscura’s three embroidered spirals reference ancestral Ainu markings of memory and protection.
Outcome & Reflection
The finished lamps; Lucerna & Obscura; operate not only as lighting objects, but as artefacts of process. They are paired opposites: one reveals history through glow and movement, the other conceals it, until warmth and light bring its story forward.
The project was exhibited with a set of supporting artefacts: material samples presenting eleven tanning and dyeing variations and a salmon leather process booklet, all designed to communicate transparency, replicability, and respect for craft lineage.
The lamps were photographed in example home contexts to highlight their relevance to everyday life, bridging design integrity with domestic familiarity. This decision also foregrounds the material's adaptability; not as an isolated concept object, but as something tactile, atmospheric, and real.
This project demonstrates how contemporary design can honour the histories, meanings, and techniques embedded within traditional materials; not simply appropriating their aesthetic, but translating their value through respectful, transparent practice. Every decision was shaped by the belief that materials are not inert resources, but relational systems; shaped by hands, places, and time.
The inclusion of sample boards, coding systems, and printed booklets ensures that the project remains open; not a sealed design, but a framework for others to understand, iterate, and build upon. Replicability and public access are central to its regenerative ethos.
Further development could include collaborative work with fish leather makers and Indigenous craft practitioners; to bring this material lineage forward not only through research, but through direct engagement and shared authorship.
This body of work ultimately positions material-led storytelling as a method of design that connects process, provenance, and responsibility; reminding that in a world of mass production and material amnesia, transparency is a powerful act of care.
Skills Used
- Regenerative material exploration (natural tanning, dyeing, conditioning)
- Steel and wood fabrication (metal bending, CNC cutting, woodturning)
- Digital and manual stitchwork (CAD embroidery, whipstitching, pattern cutting)
- Process documentation (booklet design, metadata tagging, SBOM creation)
- Lighting system integration (electrical wiring, bulb fitting, safety)
- Spatial photography and visual storytelling
- Community engagement and local material sourcing
- Critical research, cultural referencing, and narrative framing