Glass is actually the second career of Esther Patterson, founder and designer of Curiousa. A lifelong creative, she felt unfulfilled as a graphic designer and returned to university to study decorative arts. She was happily pursuing both textiles (for the colours) and bone china (enjoying the forms), when a visit to a glass blower showed her a way to marry up both mediums. “It was an amazing eureka moment,” she recalls. “At the time, lighting felt quite masculine in greys and whites, so I thought there might be a niche in the market for some simple but still decorative, lighting forms.”

Esther launched Curiousa & Curiousa (now re-branded to just CURIOUSA) a year after graduating in 2010, and was overwhelmed, after earning the Elle Decoration Design Award, when her jewel-like lighting designs were an overnight success. Since that pivotal moment Esther has never looked back. “I was really keen to keep to my ethos of quality British made lighting and never weakened to offers to have my free-blown shades manufactured abroad using moulds. I wanted to keep the authenticity of my products and keep each one free-blown and individually shaped by hand; each light being one on it’s own and very slightly different to it’s neighbour.