Behind the Design: Making the Morna
We’re always exploring new techniques and tools to help us create unique lighting designs here at Tom Raffield. There’s nothing that excites our expert workshop team more than facing a design challenge and coming up with new and innovative ways to bend wood, meet sustainability practices and create bold new designs.
Inspiration
Taking inspiration from the looping, arched shapes of blooming wild flowers found along the South West Coast Path at Lamorna Cove in Cornwall, the Morna Pendant is our latest statement lighting design within our range of Pendant Lights.
Handcrafted from 32 lengths of curving sustainably sourced wood, the panels are intricately woven to allow for a soft glow to be emitted from the bulb within. Available in three wood finishes – ash, oak and walnut, the pendant makes a bold statement, whether the spherical wooden lampshade is hanging beautifully above a dining table or as a welcoming radiance in your hallway.
Prototyping
After sketching ideas, Tom takes to the workshop to experiment with wood and other materials to create the fluid, dynamic shapes our brand is synonymous with.
“Prototyping is an incredibly important stage in our design process. An idea which looks great on paper, may not work once we start steam bending our wood panels; it might encourage us to alter the design or, it could be that we start playing with new tools and techniques to make it happen. Without creating several test models, we’d never be able to get to the final design stage, and make a stand-out piece we’re proud to have in our collection.”
Tom Raffield - Founder and Designer
Tom works through different concepts, noting flaws and ideas that need to be tweaked, before sharing with our design duo, Katie and Callum.
Together, they help bring Tom’s visions to life with further testing, detailed prototypes and CAD drawings. Spending time on this stage means they can then move on to creating computer-based designs to help ensure each product is made using precise measurements, uniformity and is structurally sound prior to another round of testing.
Fully Bloomed
Once each pendant is handcrafted, it’s sprayed with a matt finish oil to protect the wood and ensure each pendant has our promise of a Lifetime of Happiness – Guaranteed.
The finishing team takes over from the makers and spray each product with our eco-friendly, water-based varnish to provide a protective, natural finish. The team gives the piece a final check for quality control before it's sent over to our logistics team to carefully package with our custom, plastic-free, recyclable packaging, before the piece is sent to its forever home.
Posted: 24.10.25
Updated: 24.10.25