Nimbus Mulberry Silk Cloud Ceiling Lamp

I · The material

Mulberry silk. Not decoration.

Mulberry silk is produced by Bombyx mori silkworms fed exclusively on white mulberry leaves. It is the finest grade of natural silk in the world — prized in textile history for its unmatched translucency, lustre, and tensile strength. When silk fibres are layered by hand into a lighting shade, they don't behave like any other lighting material. Paper is uniformly translucent; glass reflects and refracts along its surface; fabric diffuses evenly. Silk carries subtle depth — hundreds of individual fibres, each catching light at a slightly different angle, producing a surface luminosity that has visible complexity.

The Nimbus is our second silk fixture and our first at ceiling scale. Where our Selene pendant uses hand-stretched silk over a spherical frame — geometric, considered, complete — the Nimbus takes silk in the opposite direction: hand-formed over an asymmetric metal cloud frame, letting the material find its own irregular shape. The result reads as sculptural during the day and as luminous atmosphere at night. This is not silk used as a stylistic reference. It is silk used because no other material behaves this way with light.

II · The transformation

Off, and on. Two fixtures.

Daytime, unlit

A sculptural cloud.

In ambient daylight, the Nimbus reads as a considered silk sculpture mounted flush to the ceiling — off-white, quietly luminous with the subtle sheen that only natural silk has, holding the room's light without producing any of its own. It's a piece of sculpture that happens to also be a lamp.

Evening, illuminated

A halo, from within.

When the LED activates, warm 3000K light passes through hundreds of overlapping silk layers and is scattered, softened, and warmed at each pass. The cloud becomes luminous from within — glowing warm-white with subtle variation across its surface, casting a soft halo onto the ceiling around it. It's the moment the fixture reveals what it is.

III · The form

Not symmetric. Deliberately.

The Nimbus does not attempt to be a perfect geometric form. Real clouds are asymmetric — thicker in one region, thinner in another, denser at the centre than at the edges. The Nimbus's cloud silhouette is hand-formed to carry the same visual behaviour: substantial at its middle, softer at its edges, with subtle rises and depressions across its surface that catch light differently at each viewing angle.

This is deliberate opposition to the geometric-perfect tradition in modern lighting. It's the wabi-sabi principle applied to ceiling scale: beauty in the imperfect, considered rather than machined, natural rather than uniform. Each Nimbus is individually hand-shaped, which means each is subtly different from the photographs and from every other Nimbus produced. This is the fixture's signature, and it's why the Nimbus belongs in interiors that recognise imperfect craft as its own aesthetic register.

IV · The configuration

Standard, or Triac dimming.

Warm Light 3000K

Standard configuration

Fixed 3000K warm-white output. Controlled by your existing wall switch. The amber warmth of 3000K is deliberately chosen — silk's natural ivory tone reads warmest at this temperature. Correct for rooms where the light is either on or off — foyers, dining rooms, secondary bedrooms, hallways.

Triac Warm Dimming

Recommended for bedrooms

Same 3000K tone with smooth stepless dimming. Silk at 20-40% dim produces an exceptional atmospheric mood — the glow becomes deeper, warmer, more layered. Requires a Triac (thyristor) wall dimmer — purchased separately from a hardware retailer, $15-30 typical. Recommended for primary bedrooms and living rooms where atmospheric evening brightness matters.

V · The craft

Considered, throughout.

Integrated LED. 50,000 hours.

The LED module is factory-installed inside the silk shade — no bulb sockets, no bulb replacements, no compatibility questions. Rated for 50,000 hours of operation, which is roughly seventeen years of normal residential use. If your module ever needs service, the fixture is field-serviceable by a licensed electrician; two-year manufacturer warranty covers premature failure.

Silk over metal frame.

The silk is hand-formed over an internal metal skeleton that provides the cloud's structural integrity. The frame is invisible from outside — you see only the silk. Silk shade is durable in normal indoor use; avoid humid environments (bathrooms, kitchens with heavy oil-vapour cooking) which would degrade the natural fibres over time.

Flush installation.

Standard ceiling junction-box installation — 19.7 inches in diameter, 7 inches in profile height. Mounts flush against the ceiling; low profile preserves head clearance for 8-foot residential ceilings. Licensed electrician required for wiring; the box itself is standard residential specification.

Care and longevity.

Never use water, damp cloths, or cleaning sprays on silk. For dust: a very soft dry brush (clean makeup brush or watercolour brush) or a low-power compressed-air duster held at distance every 3-4 months. Keep out of direct prolonged sunlight which can yellow silk over years. Treated correctly, natural silk lasts as long as any lighting material.

VI · Where it belongs

Rooms where the ceiling holds atmosphere.