bel+bo
beautiful lights
made to order

What are bel+bo lights?

bel+bo boule malade and cocon malade are delicate handcrafted lights made out of gauze, water based textile hardener and natural pigments. The name is derived from the french words belle and beau (pretty) and malade (sick) – as a reference to the used material.

the idea

The method of making paper lanterns by glueing thin, translucent paper onto a ballon is well known. We were curious if we could replace the paper with some sort of fabric. How transparent does it have to be? How will we get it sturdy enough? After a lot of trial and error we discovered gauze to be perfect for the job.

cocon dove_detail_square.jpg — the shapes

During the research for the best ballon shapes and sizes, we pretty soon decided on round (boule) and oval (cocon). We discovered these big ballons which – if you don’t inflate them completely – still have this kind of small appendix. Wrapping these ballons required a slightly different technique and resulted in a bottom hole in the final light. Apart from permitting more light downwards this slightly frayed opening is also a reminder of the cocons delicate structure and has become a loved detail for us.

sizes

bel+bo lights are available in 2 different shapes: round (boule) and oval (cocon). The cocon also comes in 4 different sizes. If you are unsure about the size that’s best for you just email us. We’re happy to help!
By the way: bel+bo lights also look great in groups of two or more.

colours

bel+bo lights are available in 8 colours. We work with pigments and water based textile hardener, so colours will always slightly vary and are not exactly the same as shown on screen. If you want to have a more authentic look at the colours, we are happy to send you our free colour sample.
When choosing a color please bear in mind that darker colours reduce the transparency of the fabric and hence the brightness of the lights.