Enveloping light, untamed soul
At Let’s Pause we weave stories around light. Stories that start from experienced hands, from living materials and a deep respect for Mother Nature. The new hanging lamp MIKKO is one of these stories: a piece that combines traditional craft with organic upcycling, transforming natural elements into a luminous, delicate and timeless object.
Craft that lives and breathes nature
Our new hanging lamp MIKKO was created by Colombian artisan Albeiro Camargo (who we love dearly and with whom we have been collaborating for some years now). The shade is woven from natural tan-coloured fique, a vegetable fibre sourced from an autochthonous plant of the Andes. To weave it, Albeiro uses a manual loom following the Guane technique, an ancestral technique that requires precision, patience and sensibility.
With MIKKO the natural luxury cherished by Let’s Pause is made manifest. It’s not just a lamp; it’s an intention to respectfully connect with the land and the people that work it. Each strand of the naturally tan coloured fique contains the memory of the Andean plant from which it grows, and every stitch – patient, precise, ancestral – is crafted by the Colombian artisan with whom we have worked for years. In his hands the Guane technique becomes a silent witness that honours the rhythm of Nature: slow, authentic, unpretentious. MIKKO therefore isn’t supposed to be perfect; it simply aims to endure, to inhabit the calm, to fill spaces with the true beauty that only comes about when the man-made and the natural come together as one.
The end result is a shade that takes its shape from double-layered sackcloth, lightweight yet durable, where the border detail reveals the woven mesh: a detail that recalls the finest, almost sculptural, embroidery and pays homage to the value of the time it takes to make each creation.
A fusion between craft and living nature
The top part of MIKKO features two surprising elements: two pods sourced from the fruit of the Monkey pot tree, a species native to South America. These natural elements, selected and treated by hand, celebrate the overlap between earth and light, the finishing touch to a design where nature is revealed in all its purity and glory.
A subtly braided leather-knot which allows the height of the lamp to be adjusted was added by craftsman Albiero, who never fails to surprise us with his inventiveness, his vision and his way of combining tradition and respect for the materials he works by hand.
Leisurely lighting, warm atmosphere
MIKKO projects a warm an enveloping illumination that transforms any space. Perfect for entrance halls, bedrooms, bathrooms or bar areas, equally suited as a single fitting or grouped together. The effect recreates a cascade of natural lighting. The fibrous fabric gently filters the light, creating a play of shadows that recall the calm of tropical sunsets.
A light fitting with soul
Each MIKKO lamp is a unique piece. No two are exactly alike, because no two sets of hands nor fibres are identical. Its beauty comes from this organic imperfection that breathes life into real objects.
With MIKKO, Let’s Pause continues to explore the dialogue between contemporary design and ancestral craft, between material and emotion. A lamp doesn’t just illuminate it also connects, inspires and reminds us that the fundamental things—like light— always come from nature.
The MIKKO hanging lamp is an invitation to see light from another perspective: more leisurely, more human, more conscientiously. Find out more at our online shop
More on the guane technique
The Guane technique is a traditional weaving method that originated in the Santander region of Colombia, developed by the indigenous communities who lent their name to this art. It is characterised by the use of manual looms and by a double warp through the weave that lends the fabric a firm, hardwearing texture with an easily recognisable visual pattern. Each piece takes several hours of work and constant attention to the rhythm of the weft, making each creation a unique work of art.
More on the Monkey pot
The tree known as the Monkey pot (Lecythis zabucajo) grows in the tropical rainforests of South America. Its fruit is a hard, rounded, wood-like pod traditionally used by the peoples of the Amazon for making utensils, bowls and decorative objects. At Let’s Pause, this natural fruit is used in the making of the MIKKO lamp as both a structural and decorative element, lending authenticity, character and a second life to a material that is sourced directly from Mother Nature.
The shades of our light fittings are not subjected to any artificial treatments, at the end of their useful life they will revert back to the ecosystem