Romanian Designer Andreea Braescu Uses Hundreds of Porcelain Leaves in Her Chandeliers

"Bringing nature inside is the key to all of my work." These are the words of Andreea Braescu, a Romanian ceramicist who recently ventured into the realm of lighting. Braescu's latest works-the first light fixtures she has ever created-are made up of tens, if not hundreds, of individual porcelain leaves-each of which is constructed by hand in her Bucharest studio. While molds are often employed, the process itself is time-consuming: For one recent large installation, Braescu notes it took her team of artists and engineers three weeks to make 141 leaves.Braescu herself is especially drawn to the handmade manufactory process and its "complete irregularity and lack of conformity," as she describes it. However, the construction of each individual leaf is not the only reason why no two light fixtures by Braescu are alike. "The leaves are precisely placed so that they reflect the light," she explains. In other words, each fixture is custom-created to fit inside a designated space. That means that the works could easily be designed for a jewel-box guest bedroom or a large commercial lobby. And as Braescu points out, this transmutability also reflects how leaves function in real life-they go where light is needed for them to grow.There's also a poignant paradox to Braescu's work, in that ephemeral aspects of nature are rendered in these permanent design structures. "I wanted to create something timeless, because porcelain doesn't change," she says, noting that this is also true of the fixtures' underlying stainless-steel structure. But so why leaves, and why ginkgo leaves in particular? In addition to finding inspiration in their harmonious irregularity, Braescu was drawn to the ginkgo leaf as a "potent symbol of vitality and longevity." But soon, Braescu will expand her practice, as her next collection will hinge on magnolia leaves instead.For now, though, Braescu is more than content with this debut collection of works. As she says of her leafy canopies, "I imagine these installations wherever I go."More from AD PRO: Has Instagram Made Design Shows Better?Sign up for the AD PRO newsletter for all the design news you need to know