Drawn, moulded, cast, finished.
Every Flare piece begins as a drawing and ends as a cast checked by hand in the Shrewsbury studio.
A profile is a decision about shadow
Decorative plaster is read at distance, in raking light, from below or across a room. What the eye actually registers is not ornament but the shadow the section throws.
So each design is worked as a section first. Steps are set deep enough to hold a line at three metres and shallow enough not to collect dust. The profile is adjusted until it reads at the distance it will be seen from, not the distance it is drawn at.
Fig. 1 — Section profile, overdoor pediment.
Four stages, none of them quick
Pieces are made to order in small editions rather than held in volume, which is why dispatch is measured in days rather than hours.
Drawn
The design is set out to scale and the section resolved. Proportion is fixed here: diameter against ceiling height, relief against the light the room actually gets.
Moulded
A master is made by hand and a mould taken from it. Detail lost at this stage is lost in every cast that follows, so this is the slowest part of the work and the one that is redone most often.
Cast
Plaster is mixed and poured in small editions, worked into the detail, then left to cure fully before the piece is handled. Curing is not something that can be shortened.
Finished
Each cast is released, dressed back by hand, checked against the master and packed in the studio. Anything that does not hold the profile does not go out.
Plaster, reinforced.
Fibreglass reinforced composite plaster
Traditional plaster gives the surface: matt, mineral, faintly open, and it takes emulsion exactly as a wall does. What it does not give is resilience. A large rose in plain plaster is a fragile object to fix above your head.
So every piece is cast in fibreglass reinforced composite plaster. The glass fibre carries the tension the plaster cannot, which is what allows thin sections, crisp arrises and a piece that survives being fixed, filled and painted.
Faint pores and hand marks are part of a cast piece rather than a fault in one.
Geometry before ornament
A ceiling rose is a circle answering a room. Diameter is set against ceiling height and the drop of the fitting, not against what looks generous on a screen.
The centre is left solid so the opening can be cut to the cable and fitting you actually own, rather than to a standard that suits the caster.
Fig. 2 — Setting out, ceiling rose, 36 divisions.
What is checked
Dimension
Measured against the master. Handmade pieces carry small variation, and the stated size is the one you should set out to.
Surface
Dressed back so the face takes paint evenly. Open pores are left rather than filled flat, because filling them kills the mineral surface.
Edge
The arris is checked along its length. A soft edge is the first thing that makes cast ornament look moulded rather than built.
Made in small editions in Shropshire.
Designed, cast and finished in Shrewsbury
Flare Studio works to a single standard: a piece leaves only when it holds the profile it was drawn to. Not imported, not warehoused in volume.
Joseph van Locke, founder and designerWhat buyers say
Such lovely lights that look outstanding. I purchased two and have just purchased another.
I painted it to match and it works perfectly.
Speak to the studio
For pieces, pairs, and interior projects, message the studio on WhatsApp.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm UK. Weekend messages are answered the next working day.
For fitting and paint, read the Fitting and Painting Guide.
Bespoke sizes, matched pairs and specification enquiries are welcome.