From scraps to showstoppers: The Brisbane lighting studio transforming waste into chic centrepieces
Building a dedicated following since its 2023 inception, Brisbane-based lighting studio FRANCA has always prioritised waste reduction and sustainability throughout its practice. The studio’s latest offering – Material Series 01: Coffee + Oyster – looks to put those ideals to the test, transforming common kitchen waste into priceless lights, vases and objects.
Brisbane-based design studio FRANCA has just launched two new finishes, inspired by the unnoticed beauty of everyday waste. The Material Series 01: Coffee + Oyster collection, which uses a combination of spent coffee grounds and discarded oyster shells, pushes local manufacturing and innovation to new heights, serving as a bold reimagining of what we consider “disposable”.
Produced in Normandy, France, each material has been ground into a fine particle and blended into bio-sourced PLA* (a plant-based bio-sourced polymer) filament. Sent to and developed by co-founder Isabelle Bayly, the material then underwent several months of testing, fine tuning everything from print settings and wall thickness to light diffusion and texturing. The result is a series of subtly unique, tactile finishes designed to let the qualities of the material shine through.
“We started looking at what was happening internationally with alternative 3D-printing materials and discovered some really interesting developments,” says Isabelle. “Coffee and oyster immediately stood out because the waste story is so tangible.
“You drink a coffee, and the grounds are discarded. You eat oysters, and the shells are discarded. If something as ordinary as spent coffee grounds or discarded oyster shells can become part of a lighting piece, what else are we currently treating as waste that could become a resource?”
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FRANCA’s Coffee material boasts a warm, earthy brown design, decorated with subtle flecks and varied textures. On the other hand, Oyster features a lighter, off-white mineral tone, embellished with tiny imperfections that give it a stone-like quality. These subtle irregularities are a unique fixture of FRANCA’s waste derived process, making each piece feel distinct.
The new materials feature across a range of FRANCA’s chic and sculptural wall lights, including the geometric Suki, seashell-shaped Arielle, elongated Eden and ultra-minimal Sylvie designs.
All told, FRANCA’s Coffee + Oyster series speaks to the way Australian interiors are evolving – emphasising less uniform, more layered designs, with a growing appetite for materials that feel warm, tactile and a little imperfect. If FRANCA Studio is anything to go by, the future is bright for locally manufactured design.
Head to the FRANCA Studio website for an up-close look at the range.
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