Clar is a London-based lighting design company led by product designer Barbara Etter. With a love for a quiet, minimalistic aesthetic she strives to create lighting objects that comfort us with their calm simplicity and elegance.

Clar manufactures lampshades from fine sheet materials. To forge volume from the flat, we work with layers and cut-outs, introducing figured slits and folds. Our aim is to create a luminaire that invites the material beyond conventional limitation while emphasising its subtleties, character and personality.

Clar produces locally and assembles in our East London studio. We try to keep the environmental footprint as small as possible using little transport and friendly, clever packaging. Working directly with local manufacturers cuts out transport and makes communication very fast and direct. It is fantastic to work with a community of nearby professionals.

Barbara’s experience in product and interior design stretches over a decade. After studying in Switzerland she moved to London and worked as a designer on national and international projects. She is also the driving force behind Volta Projects and designs furniture and interiors.

“My design journey starts in play – working directly with the material and with little planning. It is a conversation with the material’s properties: with fragility and stiffness, softness and tension, with texture and translucency – nudging at boundaries and finding a compromise. The final character of an object is born of this thoughtful investigation and led by regard to function, intuitiveness, familiarity and the environment”. Barbara Etter, founder & designer.