Paper is an ancient and incredibly versatile material – although many of them may look the same in an office environment, each page is made up of different fibres, driven by its own directionality. Each sheet will tear differently, in its own quiet way. THE Find your Serpentine collection with Endless Flat Studio celebrates the enduring art of paper lamps with a contemporary sensibility, drawing on a lineage that spans cultures and centuries.
Founded by Muge Du and Stephan Sammer, the creative duo operates at the intersection of architecture, craft and storytelling. Their work resists the refined uniformity of mass production, instead embracing subtle imperfections as markers of process and authorship.
Entirely handcrafted in their studio in Vienna, the collection brings together distinct material and cultural traditions. Shades made from handmade Japanese Kozo paper—shaped by Muge Du using ancient Asian techniques alongside her own developed methods—are paired with stainless steel bases––hand-fired by Stephan Sammer––in a traditional Viennese metal workshop. The result is a considered balance between softness and structure, fragility and permanence.
The collection also carries a deeper narrative thread. Inspired by Göbeklitepe, one of the world’s oldest known ritual sites, the serpentine figures refer to ancient sculptures of fluid snake-like figures. Here, the bases rise from the ground in continuous, wavy lines, reaching upward toward the light. It is a gesture that quietly evokes a dialogue between earth and sky, a symbolic dynamic embedded in each piece.
With the Lifted Fingers floor lampthe handcrafted nature of each element is celebrated, not obscured. Reminiscent of fingers gently closing as they rise, the form carries a gentle, physical gesture—organic movement that draws the eye upward in a continuous flow. Defined curves and subtle reliefs extend from the base to the shade, while the undulating wire structure grounds the piece with a sense of playful tension.
THE Cloud table lamp echoes the core language of the collection, reinforcing a cohesive visual rhythm. Its form captures the fleeting desire to hold on to something ephemeral—a cloud drifting across the sky—translating that urge into an object with presence. The interplay between cold stainless steel and warm, fibrous paper becomes a meditation on contrast, where opposing elements find surprising balance.
Peach Sky table lamp leans into the atmosphere. Inspired by the fleeting calm of a seaside sunset, it channels that moment just before the sun disappears below the horizon. The tones are warm, almost nostalgic, while the upward movement of the base mirrors the slow rise of heat from the earth. Formed through a process refined over years of experimentation, each shade carries subtle variations that reinforce its handcrafted origins.
At first glance, The Inscription wall lamp it reads as a plain, rounded form of paper. But upon approach, a curved stainless steel structure begins to reveal itself—partially hidden, but undeniably intentional. It’s a quiet prompt to look more closely and recognize that simplicity often carries complexity just beneath the surface.
In an age of hyper-curation and over-editing, this restraint feels less like nostalgia and more like a deliberate, forward-looking choice.
To stay up to date with these and upcoming projects, please visit endlessflat.studio.
Photo by Lea Sonderegger.
