Dezeen Magazine

Aura lighting fixtures by Bandido Studio

Bandido Studio coats Aura lamp with Mexican enamel

Mexican design studio Bandido Studio has created a pendant lamp with a textured charcoal grey surface created by heating up black enamel.

Puebla-based Bandido Studio created Aura's deliberately imperfect surface by heating a Mexican Peltre enamel coating to upwards of 700 degrees Celsius. The result is a departure from the studio's previous matt and glossy finished metal lighting products.

Aura lighting fixtures by Bandido Studio

Co-founders Alejandro Campos and Joel Rojas, both graduates in industrial design from Tec de Monterrey in Mexico, experimented over the course of 15 months to achieve the desired effect.

They applied the porcelain enamel to various metals including aluminum, copper, and brass, but eventually settled on carbonising it to steel because of its strong hold and colour results.

Aura lighting fixtures by Bandido Studio

The lamp's spotted design is created by sprinkling various concentrations of the porcelain enamel onto the steel. This process means that every lamp is unique.

"The porcelain melts where it is located leaving some glazed spots, and the steel grabs this carbon colour palette," Rojas said.

Aura lighting fixtures by Bandido Studio

The studio decided to use Peltre – a porcelain enamel that is popular in the country due to its durability – because of its rich Mexican history. It is most commonly found in kitchen homeware products such as pots, pans, plates, and utensils.

"We wanted to recontextualise how this material has been used across the years, and explore how it could behave with a source of light," Rojas continued.

Aura lighting fixtures by Bandido Studio

The studio designed the pendant lamp to either be hung individually or in a bespoke chandelier-like arrangement. The top half of the pendant is an elongated cylinder made from dark brown walnut wood that hides the wiring components.

"Aura balances materials with rich textures and a muted and dark colour scheme," added the studio.

Bandido Studio has recently created a lamp shaped like a mushroom and a table with a droplet-shaped marble base.

Photography by Bandido Studio.