When you walk into a room and a light fixture takes your breath away, it’s rarely just because of the design. It’s usually the materials.
There is a tactile difference between a fixture that is mass-produced by a machine and one that is shaped by human hands. At Astremier, we are obsessed with that difference. The way light filters through real stone or refracts off sharp-cut crystal changes the entire mood of a space.
We wanted to pull back the curtain a bit and walk you through the messy, loud, and delicate processes that turn raw materials into the pieces you see in our collection.
The Breath Inside Blown Glass
Glass blowing is an ancient dance that hasn't changed much in 2,000 years. It starts with "the gather"—dipping a blowpipe into a furnace of molten glass that has the consistency of hot honey.
From there, it’s a race against temperature. The artisan has to constantly rotate the pipe to keep the glass from dripping while simultaneously blowing air into it to shape the bubble. It requires incredible lung capacity and steady hands.
What we love most about blown glass is that it is essentially a frozen fluid. Because it’s made by breath and gravity, no two shades are mathematically identical. You might see tiny bubbles (called "seeds") or slight waves in the surface. In our book, those aren't flaws; they are the signature of the maker.
The "Stone That Glows": Polishing Alabaster
Alabaster is magical because it creates a paradox: it’s a heavy, solid stone, yet it looks as soft as a cloud when lit.
The process starts with quarrying raw boulders, which look chalky and opaque on the outside. The magic happens during the turning and polishing. Artisans use lathes to shave the stone down to relatively thin layers. As they sand it smoother and smoother, the stone begins to reveal its secrets.
You start to see the internal "smoke"—the dark iron oxides or earth-toned veins running through the milky white rock. Polishing alabaster for lighting is tricky; cut it too thick, and it blocks the light. Cut it too thin, and it becomes brittle. When done right, the stone doesn't just let light pass through; it seems to hold the light inside it, creating that creamy, diffused glow that no frosted glass can replicate.
The Prism Effect of Cut Crystal
If Alabaster is about softness, Crystal is about sharpness.
True high-end crystal lighting relies on precision cutting. While glass is molded, crystal is often cut using diamond wheels. The goal here is to create sharp, crisp edges. Why? Because rounded edges let light slide off, while sharp edges shear the light, breaking it into a spectrum of colors (refraction).
The artisan holds the crystal against the grinding wheel to carve deep geometric patterns—facets—that act like tiny mirrors. After the cut, the crystal looks frosty and rough. It then goes through a rigorous polishing stage, often involving acid baths or felt wheels, to restore that brilliant, liquid clarity. The result is a material that multiplies light, turning a single bulb into a sparkling centerpiece.
The Story of Weathered Wood
In a world of shiny metals and sparkling glass, weathered wood provides the necessary grounding. It adds history.
Creating a "weathered" look isn't just about painting wood gray. Authentic weathering processes involve physically altering the texture of the wood to mimic years of exposure to the elements.
Wire brushes are often used to strip away the softer "summer wood" from the surface, leaving behind the harder, darker grain ridges. This gives the wood a tactile, 3D surface that catches shadows. We then use stains that don't just sit on top, but soak in to react with the tannins in the wood, creating those complex grayish-browns and drift-wood tones. It creates a rustic warmth that balances out the coolness of metal chains or glass shades.
The material defines the light. Whether it’s the smoky vein of alabaster or the perfectly imperfect bubble in blown glass, these details matter.
Explore our collections to see how these materials come to life in your home.