Sometimes I come across upcycle design made out of an object that brings back memories. And not just memories from a few years ago, no going back to my childhood. And that’s also one of the nice, fun and fascinating aspects of upcycle design. There’s always a history and a story to be told. And that’s why upcycle design often is so attractive and impressive.

The beauty of colanders

The upcycled item I saw this time was a kitchen utensil my mother used when I was a kid. I remember her having this shiny foldable steel colander which looked so cool and was great because of all the parts you could play with and collapse into a compact object.
Never thought this older existing object would inspire to create a magnificent pendant lamp collection showing the beauty of colanders. And a designer that just did that is Nadia Belalia.


Nadia Belalia:

“I admire objects of an extreme simplicity, objects of everyday life which aspire to a certain kind of elegance, the reincarnation of those into new forms.”

Back to that kitchen utensil. The Maké Maké pendant lamp is made out of a colored colander whose original function was to use as a food colander or vegetable steamer basket. Nadia took those recognizable perforated steel plates and attached them to a laser-cut stainless steel structure and bent the ‘wings’ into this beautiful round form.

The colander collection is lighting showing an interesting combination of softness and strength. Together the perforated parts have countless holes that create a very warm and friendly diffused light.

Design by Nadia Belalia | Facebook