Dia Small Jute Lampshade - Ink

The Dia in ink is the same coarse jute shade dyed to a deep blue black. It is a tapered drum, lined pale on the inside, and this is the small size: 14.5cm tall, 15.5cm across the top and 20cm across the base. The dye sits unevenly in a fibre this open, so the weave shows as lighter flecks through the dark and the shade reads closer to charcoal in daylight than to black.

A dark shade does a different job from a pale one. Very little light passes out through the jute, so almost all of it leaves through the top and bottom openings: a pool down onto the table and a wash up the wall, rather than a glow from the shade itself. The pale lining is what keeps the downward light warm instead of dulling it against the dye. At 20cm across the base it suits a small base, a bedside lamp or a squat body. It fits a table lamp, a floor lamp or a ceiling pendant. It weighs 0.21kg.

Jute is a plant fibre, coarse and hard wearing, and it is woven and dyed before being formed over the frame, so the depth of colour and the grain differ from shade to shade. The Dia range runs from small to extra large in this ink and again in natural jute. No bulb, base or fitting is included.

How dark is ink?

A deep blue black. In daylight the open weave lets the fibre show through as lighter flecks, so it reads nearer charcoal than true black; lit at night it goes darker.

Will a dark shade give less light?

Less through the shade, yes. Almost all of it leaves through the open top and bottom instead, so you get a pool below and a wash above rather than a glow all round.

Which base does the small suit?

A small one. At 20cm across the base it covers a bedside lamp or a squat body and little more.

How do I handle it?

Hold it by the fitting and never by the jute, because taking the weight on the fabric pulls a shade out of shape. A microfibre cloth, gently, is all it asks for.