“The equilibrium is delicate. It depends on the weight of the fabric and many tiny invisible elements.” All the components making up the Cappuccina are balanced against one another. The size of the glass ball depends on the type of light source (LED or energy-saving). The concave base looks like a dent made in the light-diffusing sphere. The fabric of the lampshade is a graded pattern of two contrasting colours. The narrow end begins with a greater concentration of the patterned markings. Gradually they separate, changing the intensity of the light filtering through the fabric and giving more space to the background colour, which becomes dominant at the wide end of the shade.

The colourways chosen for the fabric make the lamp suitable for classic interiors (less contrasting tones) as well as modern ones (brighter hues).

“The difficulty with designing lamps is the enormous choice there is in types of light sources,” adds Sempé. “It’s hard to understand which one to pick, because they all have pros and cons. The technology used in this project definitely gives you limits, but at least it forces you and maybe even helps you to make decisions. In any case, I am not in favour of showing any technical details, not in any type of design, because I think that what we all want is a homey, warm kind of design that is attractive to look at and a joy to use. No one buys a lamp for its technological features only.”