Porcelain magic

The spectacular chandelier is called Niagara. It is a cascade of hundreds of tiny lights and 300 porcelain butterflies.

The butterflies are inspired by Lladro's popular Urania figurine and the 150 kg chandelier is the centrepiece of the Lladro Re-Cyclos Magical collection by Bodo Sperlein, recently unveiled in Dubai.

For over half a century, Lladro has specialised in handcrafted porcelain figurines.

Lladro's artists have drawn inspiration from various sources to create graceful ballerinas, majestic horses, delicate flowers and beautiful birds that are seen in elegant homes around the world and avidly collected by lovers of fine craftsmanship.

New range

Last year the Spanish company launched a new range of products for the home that are decorative as well as functional.

Aptly titled Re-Cyclos, this collection draws inspiration from Lladro's archives to create lighting, decorative items and jewellery, based on existing Lladro figurines.

"We have been making decorative items for the home for many years and now we want to diversify in the area of functional beauty. The concept of Re-Cyclos is to reinterpret our existing designs into new product lines. Rather than developing this range in-house, we decided to invite famous designers to create the collections so that they could look at it with a fresh perspective," said Alain Viot, CEO of Lladro, who was in Dubai for the unveiling of the collection.

Re-invented

The Re-Cyclos project was launched last year with a range of geodes and crowns using Lladro Christmas decorations from previous years.

This year, famous German designer Bodo Sperlein, based in London, was invited to design the collection.

He was chosen particularly because he has always experimented with the industrial possibilities of porcelain and ceramics and has often used porcelain flowers made by British artisans, thus keeping a dying tradition alive in the UK.
Sperlein has focussed on nature using fragments such as wings, individual flowers and animal heads from various Lladro pieces to create interesting lamps, vases, bottle stoppers, jewellery, screens and chandeliers.

In Dubai

The collection will be available by the end of the year at Tanagra in Dubai.

"Only two pieces of the Niagara chandelier have been created. But we can make to order in any size, the chandelier as well as the room divider," said Viot.

"We have brought this line to Dubai because people here have nice homes and the space and desire to make their homes special. Lladro has been in this market for many years and is well accepted and I hope people here will find our new lines exciting," he added.

Did you know?

Lladro was established by brothers Juan, Jose and Vicente Lladro in 1953.

All Lladro figurines are designed and manufactured at the company's headquarters called Porcelain City in Valencia, Spain.

The family-owned company has recently appointed non-family members such as Alain Viot on the board of directors to oversee the diversification into new lines for the home.
The company recently launched a collection for the bathroom with faucets and other accessories in a blend of porcelain and metal.

The collection

Details of the Lladro Re-Cyclos Magical collection:
Sperlein has used horses from the "movement" collection to make bottle stoppers for wine decanters.

Roosters have been transformed into cruet sets, pristine white for salt and ebony for pepper.

Flowers find new life as tea lights and wall lamps and on vases and candleholders.

Tiny porcelain doves are perched on sinuous gold strands in unusual necklaces, earrings, cufflinks, broaches and hair ornaments.

Pendants from Lladro's Talismania collection are strung together to create an artistic room divider. The pieces are painted either white or black.

See it

The Lladro Re-Cyclos Magical collection by Bodo Sperlein is on display at Tanagra stores in Wafi City and Mall of the Emirates, Dubai. The Niagara chandelier will be on display till mid-December at the Presotto showroom in Al Barsha, Dubai.