There’s something oddly comforting about the way certain shapes keep coming back.
Sometimes it’s a curved handle on a teacup that reminds me of something I saw in a 70s Italian catalog. Or a linen lampshade with lines so pure, it could belong just as easily in a Kyoto ryokan as in a Brooklyn loft. Timeless design has that ability — it slips past borders and decades, somehow always feeling relevant.
I used to think “timeless” was just another marketing word — a kind of label used to sell something minimal or safe. But as a designer, and perhaps more so as a woman building a slower, more intentional brand, I now see it differently. Timelessness is not about staying neutral. It’s about staying true.
At Lumiere Shades, we create pieces that are built to last — not only in form, but in feeling. Our handcrafted linen lampshades are inspired by the past, but designed for the present, rooted in nature, in heritage, in a quieter way of living.
This is my personal reflection on the enduring power of timeless pieces, and why, in an age obsessed with newness, I choose to return to what has always made sense.
Timeless Design Is Emotional Longevity
Why some pieces stay with us, and others don’t...
We’ve all felt it. That connection to an object that just feels right. A chair that fits our body perfectly. A lamp that makes a room feel instantly calmer. A ceramic bowl with a small imperfection that makes it more beautiful, not less.
This is what timeless design does. It lives with us, and it lives well.
Unlike trendy pieces, which often feel dated after a season or two; timeless designs age gracefully. They adapt. They get softer, richer, more layered with time. You stop noticing them as “things,” and they simply become part of your everyday rhythm.
Think of Alvar Aalto’s undulating vases, or Eileen Gray’s adjustable side tables. These are not loud designs. They’re precise. Poetic. They answer a need so elegantly that nothing more is required. They prove that design isn’t just about form, it’s about emotional function.
At Lumiere Shades, we design with this in mind. Our linen lampshades aren’t there to dominate a room. They’re there to soften it. To ground it. To let the light breathe.
The Echo of Icons: When the Past Guides the Present
Why we keep coming back to the same silhouettes.
Design history is a loop. Each decade reinvents the last. From mid-century curves to 90s minimalism, we’re constantly revisiting forms we thought we’d left behind. But the truly iconic pieces never really go away — they evolve. We don’t need to reinvent everything. Sometimes we just need to listen — to what’s already been said, beautifully.
When I started Lumiere Shades, I found myself instinctively sketching shapes that felt familiar. A dome here. A pleated edge there. Not copies, but echoes. These gestures weren’t about nostalgia, they were about lineage. A kind of quiet tribute.
Japanese Organic Design: A Philosophy
How Japanese design shapes our approach at Lumiere Shades...
We've always been drawn to Japanese aesthetics, not as a trend, but as a worldview. The way a space holds emptiness. The reverence for texture. The restraint that feels full of life.
The philosophy of wabi-sabi has had a profound influence on the way I design. It celebrates imperfection, impermanence, the handmade. It suggests that beauty isn’t found in polished perfection, but in the lived-in, the weathered, the natural.
This is why we work with natural linen. Because it’s alive. It shifts with the light. It crumples gently. No two lampshades are ever exactly the same, and that’s the point.
We also draw on organic forms , asymmetrical, soft, rooted in nature. Much like the Japanese concept of shizen(naturalness), our lamps avoid harsh edges. They let the eye rest. They bring the outside in.
When people ask what makes Lumiere Shades feel different, I think it’s this: we’re not trying to be perfect. We’re trying to be real.
The Luxury of Slowness
Why handmade still matters — now more than ever...
In today’s world, it’s easy to forget how things are made. Products appear fully formed, shipped overnight, replaced in a blink. But behind every handcrafted piece is a story, of material, of process, of hands that know what they’re doing.
At Lumiere Shades, we work slowly. We shape by hand. We finish each base with care. It takes longer, but it feels better. There’s integrity in that pace.
Linen itself is a tactile language. It’s breathable, durable, and quietly luxurious. It catches light in a way that synthetic fabrics never can. It softens over time — much like wood, or leather, or stone.
Choosing a handcrafted lampshade is a decision to step out of the disposable. It’s an invitation to live with things that matter. Not because they’re expensive, but because they’re meaningful.
This, to me, is the true luxury today: slowness, intentionality, care.
Designing the Future Through the Past
Why we still believe in classic forms, and how they evolve.
Design isn’t about being stuck in time. It’s about choosing what to carry forward. At Lumiere Shades, we take cues from the past, but we reinterpret them through a contemporary lens. It’s not revival — it’s reinvention.
Our Metro lamp, for example, reimagines a classic dome with softer proportions. The Parlour brings together traditional elegance and modern simplicity. Every piece we create is a blend of memory and imagination, a response to both heritage and now.
As a designer, I find comfort in limits. In using fewer materials, fewer lines. In stripping things back to the essentials. Because when a form is right, you feel it. It doesn’t need explaining.That’s the quiet power of timeless design. It doesn’t ask for your attention. It earns it — over time.
In Praise of the Long Game...
We live in a culture obsessed with the new. But I believe the future belongs to those who invest in lasting beauty. In objects that evolve with us. In pieces that hold memory, emotion, and care. Timeless design isn’t nostalgic. It’s hopeful. It says: some things are worth keeping. Some forms still speak. Some materials — like linen, like paper, like wood , still hold magic.
At Lumiere Shades, we’re here for the long game. For the quiet icons. For the rooms lit with intention. For the pieces that don’t age out, they age in.
Because the most beautiful light is the one you want to live with — not just today, but for years to come.