Lighting & Glass

Inka Gabriel is a maker of contemporary lights based in the South Hams. Born in Cologne, Germany, she successfully completed an apprenticeship in glazing, becoming responsible for designing and completing work on leaded lights, lamps and sandblasting.

In 1989, she came to London to join The Stained Glass Shop in Wandsworth, concentrating on leaded light production, and has worked with glass ever since. A move to Devon in 1992 to start her family prompted a new direction for her work. A single sheet of white glass and pebbles from the beach led her to focus on lamp making using copper foiling techniques.

Her lamps are kept in white opaque or opalescent glass with clear simple lines, with the inclusion of natural and man-made materials, which determine her designs. All her lights are made working in the traditional copper foiling technique and are set on solid wooden bases. They come in a range of different sizes.

Although she does repeat her designs none of the lights are ever the same, either through change of colour or the materials used. By using seemingly simple lines, she creates a fusion of the man-made with the natural.

Recently Inka has produced a series of beautiful romantic lamps with the inclusion of hand cut and finished original late Victorian / Edwardian magic lantern glass, which create a lovely focal point to any room but also a wonderfully calm light. No one can say for sure who invented the Magic Lantern. It is part of the marvelous world of optical projection and stands alongside the Camera Obscura, Shadow Shows and the Magic Mirror. Like them the Magic Lantern has been used to educate, entertain and mystify audiences for hundreds of years

Inka recycles old Victorian-Edwardian lantern glass into these fabulous romantic lamps. She disassembles them and hand cuts and files them before backing with a second piece of glass and placing them in the lamp.

Inka is a member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen.