Welcome to notes

May 6, 2025

Welcome to notes by J.WU, thanks for being here. This is a space where we can break down

what we’ve been building up and really get a chance to nerd out about all the details we love.

We may also talk about other things that we fancy as well. Some nice tunes for your ears, a

recipe for your buds, or something visual to bathe your eyes and brain with. There’s a lot to this globe shooting through the cosmos and we’d love to share the vibrations that inspire us, to hopefully inspire you to get out there, move around, create with your hands, or embark on the path to a more mellow rhythm.

So much of the process in our designs and the hours spent deliberating over the little details often gets lost in the final product. After getting all worked up over shades of brown or angles at which legs protrude from bases, and then to finally arrive at the end of the rainbow, it leaves us wondering where it went. This is our deep dive into what it takes to make cool things and how we arrive at the decisions we make in an effort to be able to grab at that laser of light.

"This lamp was a failure."

Our journey began in the Spring of 2024 when Jason had designed a lamp for his senior thesis. A three tiered structure that diffused light differently depending on its orientation. The biggest issue, however, was that the price for it to be professionally manufactured would then slot it onto the shelf of “collectible” design. For those that aren’t familiar with the term, think of words like ‘bespoke’ or products for ‘discerning’ clientele. Basically it would be completely inaccessible to those who want cool shit and that didn’t feel right.

by J.WU for Wooj Design

After graduation, Jason was approached by a 3D printed lighting design studio, Wooj, to print a lamp based on his thesis. He then set out to design a lamp that could only be 3D printed but still retain the organic, floral typology of before. After many iterations, together with the founder, Sean, they came up with the Lotus lamp which feels familiar yet distinct.

So one checkbox was crossed off - design a lamp and have it retail at an accessible price, bingo bango. But a big one remained. How can we take this geometric form and make it not only appealing, digestible, and accessible but make it uniquely ours? To promote a design language that used to be standard practice 60+ years ago but has since given way to replaceable rather than repairable?

To tackle this problem, the issue of material was first confronted. Paper, like a Japanese lantern, would be great had it not already been used countless times and in every way, shape, and form. On top of that, paper isn’t necessarily the most conducive to a long life. The appeal of the paper we liked was the warm, soft glow of light that it gave off, a beautiful yellow-orange very similar to the glow of a sunset. Jason had some extra greige (undyed) canvas lying around from an earlier chair cushion project and thought to give it a go. The light diffused in the same way as well as highlighting the earthy, natural variations of cotton in all its flecky goodness.

Smocking used in drapery

The next question was how to achieve that geometry found perfected in nature (cue bee hives)? The answer was found in a sewing technique called ‘smocking’ where alternate points in folds of fabric are sewn together to create a diamond pattern. Originally intended to increase elasticity and movement in clothing, we found it a great way to provide the same structure as the Lotus lamp but with an added softness from the drape and fabric.

Bar tacks allowing for longer curves and less angles

Smocking applied here made it resemble less a lovely lamp and more like a pineapple floating in midair. Not to say anything bad against the tropical fruit but its rigidity was a little more angular than what we were hoping for. By extending the sewing point from a single stitch to a bar tack we were able to create longer curves which gave each ‘cell’ more organic versus industrial feeling lines.

After cutting out the circle patterns from the roll, we were then faced with the leftover ‘donut

holes’. So why not make more donuts? And that kids, are how lamps are born. The mini lamp is the smallest of the three donuts and a personal favorite. This way, we hit a lot of benchmarks that make up good design in terms of efficiency and reduction of waste. These precepts are what we feel made up the design language of the heyday of modern design in the 50’s and 60’s. How best to utilize materials efficiently yet poetically? Two products as a by-product of one is a pretty good start.

I’ll go more into the design of the table lamp and mini lamp in following posts - in the meantime, feel free to comment any questions or reach out via our contact form or on Instagram. Cheers.