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The Making of Verso

10 September 2021

We caught up with our talented workshop team to find out about the new techniques and challenges they’ve mastered in crafting our sculptural Verso Lighting Range…
Making of the Tom Raffield Verso Range in the workshop

Inspired by the gravity defying, swooping motion of falling leaves in the wind, our Verso Lighting Range is an asymmetrical wooden work of art. With an aesthetic unlike any of our other designs, Verso has created new processes, methods, and challenges for our workshop team to master. Join us in finding out more about the development of this unique, artisan design…

Tom raffield designing
Tom uses nature as his muse, seeking fresh perspectives on the beauty found in our Cornish surroundings.

Where it all began...

The first step in creating any new design is our Founder, Tom, putting his ideas on paper and sketching out his latest inspiration. Whether these are rough sketches or a more detailed design, Tom’s vision is always displayed to the team through these drafts. Together with our talented workshop team, they then pick apart each piece of the design and spend countless hours ensuring the light can be handcrafted to our high-quality finish for each and every customer order.

Through this testing, each detail is meticulously analysed – from wood type to construction style, lighting effect and packaging...everything is evaluated to ensure the new range will last a lifetime.

Making of the Tom Raffield Verso Range in the workshop
The new Verso Range showcases just how unpredictable nature can be.
Close up of the new Verso Range by Tom Raffield
Crafted with three lengths of sustainable ash, oak or walnut wood, the Verso Lighting Collection seemingly defies gravity through careful design and craftsmanship.

Crafting: the balancing act

Making of the Tom Raffield Verso Range in the workshop
The Verso Range has a dry construction process, meaning no nasty glues or chemicals are used in the making. Not only is this better for the planet, but it also means if any repairs are needed they are easy to manage.

The making process begins with the swooping layers that create the unexpected display of light from the Verso Lighting Range. Cutting the lengths of timber that create each design is a carefully considered job, with some of the range using just one continuous piece of wood. The lengths of sustainably sourced ash, oak or walnut wood all vary in weight, meaning our team of craftspeople have to be precise, with key attention to detail when hand making this asymmetrical design with the additional benefit of each piece being truly unique every time.

Making of the Tom Raffield Verso Range in the workshop
To minimise waste wood, we use timber that can be found in our existing collections, such as the Leven Range and Comber Range, when crafting our Verso Range.

The Verso Range features a cleverly placed, offset plate which allows for equal weight distribution of the lampshade. After a lot of trial and error, our workshop team created a custom jig, which allows them to secure each length of Verso timber to the base plate of the light for stability and balance. Strong, swooping lines are what characterise the new sculptural range, so this precise balancing act helps ensure nothing distracts from the leaping lengths of timber when they are illuminated.

Now for the workshop team’s favourite part, stepping back and seeing their hard work as a finished piece, before sending it through to our finishing team and then off to get carefully packaged.

Sprayed, sealed, and delivered

Tom Raffield being sprayed with natural finish
Our designs are sprayed with a matt finish, which protects the wood ensuring every Verso Light will last a lifetime of happiness – guaranteed.
Tom Raffield plastic free packaging
Tom Raffield are proudly part of a pack share initiative which focuses on reusing packaging materials and sharing surplus stocks to ensure nothing goes to waste.

Once the maker is happy with the design they have made, the Verso Light is passed along to our finishing team. Each piece in the Verso Range is sprayed with an eco-friendly, water-based varnish which provides a protective, natural finish. Before the design goes to our logistics team to be carefully packed up and sent to its forever home in its very own custom, plastic free, recyclable packaging, the team give the piece one final check for quality control.

 

Tom raffield new Verso Lighting Range

Explore the New Verso Lighting Range

An ornate marriage of balance and light, the Verso Range is an asymmetrical wooden work of art that welcomes a fresh perspective.

Posted: 10.09.21
Updated: 10.09.21

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