Lighting star Rosanna Lonsdale

from EDIT 39/40: ESTILA INTERIORS GUIDE 2019

Artist story - Elizabeth Grant

**Palm Beach Large Decorative Base, from £565.00**

interview by Karolina Barnes, photography provided by Rosanna Lonsdale

What sparked the idea for your namesake brand?

My grandmother used to make these beautiful decalcomania lamps so I grew up being surrounded by them. I was working in a huge advertising agency and longed to do something creative, re-creating my grandmother's lamps, modernising her ideas. I decided to leave my job and take a leap at modernising her designs, giving people more choice and customisation.

I love the variety you get from starting a business since you’ve got to cover all departments yourself, with the favourite part being the creative process of designing and making the lamps. It started in my kitchen and has organically grown to me now having a studio in SW London. I now have lamps in Nina Campbell's showroom and am selling to private clients, interior designers across the UK, USA, Europe, Middle East, Canada, Australia, Japan and the Caribbean.

Your products are absolutely beautiful. Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

My first collection was a tropical whimsical theme - aimed at bringing a bit of the outside in to create something fresh and uplifting. I wanted to create designs that are classic eclectic - that have the grandeur and quality of something traditional but with a more colourful contemporary twist. It was important that they weren’t just functional but a piece of art in their own right.

Can you tell us more about your business model? Do you work with interior designers too?

I started off testing the products at fairs and Christmas markets, launched my website and then sold direct to private clients, interior designers and some online boutiques. As I don’t wholesale to stores, it cuts out the middleman and means I can charge less for handmade British products.

What is the most popular product?

My Pink Ladies lamp in large (below) - it is my absolute favourite and works very well as oversized bedside lamps as they can make a room feel larger. I think people love the pink brass and ivory together - and the whimsical and fluid nature of the flamingoes.