Lập Thu

Lập Thu, named after the Start of Autumn, is the least expensive single lamp in the collection: a closed seagrass shade 32 cm across, a brass rim, 1.5 m of fabric cable. It puts a pool of light on a page or a bar top and leaves the rest of the room alone.

Who makes it, and how

Lâm Văn Lộc bends the rim and inner frame from brass rod softened with a torch, on a wooden jig, about half a day per frame. Huỳnh Thị Mến weaves the seagrass over a matching mould, packing the strands tight so no light leaks sideways, then seals it with a matte moisture coat. For the paper version she laminates two layers of dó paper (giấy dó, made from the bark of the dó tree) onto the brass instead. Tô Minh Khang wires it, fits the E27 socket and runs it for 24 hours before packing.

What the light does

A 6 W LED at 2700K, the yellow-white of an old incandescent, with a spare bulb in the box. Because the seagrass is closed, the light gathers into a round pool under the lamp with a soft edge, and the walls barely catch it.

Dó paper changes the character. The whole shade glows like a lantern, the fibres show, less light reaches the table and more spreads into the room. Choose by use: seagrass for reading, paper for a gentle bedroom light.

Where it fits

• Ø24 cm (VND 1,600,000): bedside, a tiny bar, a narrow corner.
• Ø32 cm (VND 1,900,000): a reading chair, a bar with two or three stools.
• Ø40 cm (VND 2,500,000): a desk or a table for two.

In Khoa and Uyên’s apartment in An Khánh, Uyên reads every evening in a corner of the bedroom. The room is air-conditioned and dry, so we made her Lập Thu in dó paper: VND 1,900,000 plus 400,000, VND 2,300,000 in all.

How high to hang it

Over a counter or table: 70 to 80 cm from the top to the bottom of the shade. Beside a reading chair: off to the shoulder side rather than overhead, with the bottom a little above the seated head, so you never look into the bulb. Khang sets it on site while you sit in the chair.

Care

Seagrass: a dry cloth or soft brush once a month, no sprays, no bathrooms. Dó paper: a soft feather duster only, never a damp cloth, and keep it away from bathrooms, cooking and rooms without air-conditioning in the rainy season. More on the dó paper page and in our note on dó paper bedside lamps.

Options people usually pick

• Dó paper shade (+VND 400,000): for an air-conditioned bedroom, when soft light matters more than reading light.
• Raw brass: the rim is the only metal you see, and as it darkens it sits well with the seagrass.
• Dimmable bulb (VND 90,000): to turn it down before sleep, paired with a VND 350,000 wall dimmer.
• Offset swag hook (VND 150,000): when the ceiling outlet is mid-room and the chair is in the corner.

Want to see where the pool lands on your own chair? Send a photo through the light mock-up page.