These sustainable lamps are made from coffee and orange peels!

Lamps have the ability to truly turn up the vibes in a space when they are done right and Obscure fits neatly in that category. In fact, it elevates the lighting game because it is also 100% sustainable, cold-compostable, and zero-waste! The collection of lampshades manifests nature’s genius and demonstrates an intelligent, material-driven approach to eco-friendly design.

The handmade collection is created by a London-based biotech and biomanufacturing startup. It represents the close-knit collaboration between ‘maker’ and ‘matter’. The matter, Orb or organic refuse bio-compound, influences the maker whilst the maker prescribes the matter with geometry. As the matter conforms to the maker’s prescription, the maker’s geometry inspires the matter to bend and flow as it pleases.

Obscure is made of 100% coffee chaff and orange peel. The company behind it constantly showcases the potential of bio-manufacturing of natural materials and regularly uses excess resources/wastes and byproducts in their design to reduce the use of plastics. Orb is a combination of food and agricultural bioproducts with a plant-based binder.

The team is also working to address several planetary challenges at once – the climate crisis, waste crisis, and social injustice – through their work. They apply principles of biomimetics, or systematically applying the ecological laws of nature, to create products and manufacturing approaches that innovate across the entire manufacturing life cycle. And, therefore, to create ethically-sourced and locally-fabricated high-performance sustainable products.

“There has never been a more critical time to be doing the work we do at Biohm,” said Ehab Sayed, founder and director of innovation at Biohm. “Recent events have emphasized how our economies and systems are flawed and unsustainable, and that we need to immediately implement radical and regenerative biotechnologies delivered through equitable and compassionate business models to make leaps in the fight against the climate crisis.”

Designer: Biohm