The sea has long since inspired humans, and for materials it’s no different. The sea brings us seaweed and other algae, sand, fish leather, jellyfish, chitin and… salt! Designer Nir Meiri took inspiration from the sea in a series of lamps and a table, using various materials. Most recent are his SeaSalts Lights, a series of lamps made from sea salt and resin.

When you leave an object in salty water for a long time, the salt will slowly crystallise around the object, leaving white residue. Meiri’s  SeaSalt lamps are inspired by this process. The lampshades are made in a silicone mould, in which salt and resin are poured. The salt is slowly absorbed by the resin and crystallises into delicate looking lampshades, emerging with rough and natural textures. When lit, the light glows through the salt, creating a soft and ambient light.

The sea-inspired projects started with Desert Storm, a lampshade made from moulded sand. The shades are designed to bring to mind primitive desert structures, while the overall figure resembles that of plants at the Mediterranean seashore.

Meiri continued the project with Marine Light, which are lamps made with seaweed. The lamp has a metal base and a structure of metal strings for the lampshade. The seaweed is applied when it’s wet on the frame, and as it dries, it shrinks and takes the shape of the frame. To preserve the material, a plastic preserving material is applied.

Sea Stone lamps consist salt lampshades attached to a frame made of wood and covered in fish leather. The design as a whole resembles a reef with sea creatures attached to it.

In addition to lamps, Meiri also designed a side table inspired by the sea. The top is made of a mixture of resin and dried fish scales. The scales are dyed with black ink and then left to dry. When they are completely dried, they are mixed with the resin and poured into a silicone mould to create the Terrazzo table top. The table’s legs are made of wood.

The sea-inspired objects were combined in the exhibition The Elegant Dance of Sea and Light, part of the London Design Festival 2017 from 19-24 September.

Photos: Nir Meiri