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©Mark Collett
©Mark Collett
©Mark Collett
©Mark Collett
©M_A_Aston

Mark Collett

  • Lamp maker
  • St Bonnet Briance, France
  • Master Artisan
Mark Collett Lamp maker
Contact
English, French
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+33 555755202
©Mark Collett

Steam, bend, light, bright

  • • Mark turns wood into fluid forms
  • • He only works with locally sourced wood
  • • His luminaires are designed to be functional and timeless

Mark Collett injects modernity in woodworking by creating elegant light sculptures of clean design. Located in France, in the heart of nature, the atelier M.A.Aston specialises in the creation of bespoke luminous suspensions made from local wood and crafted with the steam-bending technique. By perfecting this process of naturally steaming the wood to make it malleable, Mark sculpts it into curved, flowing shapes, in a quest for simplicity in its purest form. As woodworking is a passion that runs in his family, he learned the trade from his father. But it is his very first encounter with steam-bending that inspired him to fully embrace the creative side of the craft: “It seemed to open up a whole new world to me, a world where the only limits where my imagination.”

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Mark Collett
  • ©Mark Collett
  • ©M_A_Aston
  • ©M_A_Aston
Photo: ©Mark Collett
Ecliptic

This light sculpture in ash features a sinuous shape, with the wood bending gracefully. “Three metres of European Ash were steamed around a wooden jig. The central piece of the sculpture is lit by High Flux LED strips hidden within the spiral. The outer surface has been stained with Chinese ink and then protected, whilst the inner surface has been oiled with a white oil to create contrast.”

Photo: ©Mark Collett
Smoke, lying

Wood takes on a soft, fluid form in this suspended light sculpture. “Two pieces of 3m long ash were heated with steam and bent free hand to create a soft, gentle shape. Once the form was created, the two pieces were fixed together and a silicon LED diffuser was embedded to enhance movement of the sculpture.”

Photo: ©M_A_Aston
Number 7

This suspended light sculpture features a spiral shape, with the wood bending gracefully. “Nine metres of ash have been steamed to recreate the trajectory of a falling ash seed as it spirals to the ground. Modern LED strips are diffused through a handcrafted paper diffuser, to give a unique effect similar to light passing through ice.”

Photo: ©M_A_Aston
Number 8

This suspended wooden sculpture of soft and clean lines is shaped like a figure of 8. “Six metres of American oak were steamed to create a mobius of light. Modern LED light strips are installed behind a linen diffuser to give a soft natural light sculpture. The wooden suspension light had its edges rounded by hand to give a delicate light weight feel.”

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