Let’s Pause studio shows us how to design in symbiosis with nature

by Margherita Bruni

In the knowledge that everything that exists in the world has already been conceived by nature, Let’s Pause chooses to create furniture that draws inspiration from it at every stage of the design process.

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Nature has undeniably been humankind’s greatest source of inspiration since the beginning of time. An immense classroom in which, little by little, we have learnt to interpret the world and to inhabit it. It is nature that teaches us to be as versatile as society demands, as adaptable and resilient as constant change requires, and even generous, so that we may share the planet. It is precisely from the awareness that everything we need to exist stems from nature’s intelligence that the Spanish design studio Let’s Pause was born.

Based in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, in Catalonia (Spain), Let’s Pause sees nature not only as a source of inspiration but as the ultimate destination towards which every creative choice is guided, even before it takes shape. “Design in symbiosis with nature,” the studio affirms, creating pieces with a long story yet a pure, essential character, born from just two fundamental elements: natural materials and the skilled hands of artisans who know how to transform them endlessly. And so, in these skilful hands, clay is shaped into a decorative vase, a palm leaf becomes the seat of an elegant bench, and oleander branches are transformed into inviting armchairs.

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Rengo lamps by Let’s Pause – © Maria Algara RegàsRengo lamps by Let’s Pause – © Maria Algara RegàsRengo lamps by Let’s Pause – © Maria Algara RegàsRengo lamps by Let’s Pause – © Maria Algara RegàsRengo lamps by Let’s Pause – © Maria Algara Regàs

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The natural dimension is also the one to which Let’s Pause’s creations return at the end of their life cycle. Composed exclusively of organic materials – such as esparto grass, fique, poplar wood, palm leaves, and clay – the objects crafted by the studio are designed to one day merge once again with the earth. An approach to design that looks to the simplicity of the past, and yet is more contemporary than ever. In this context emerges a dense and poetic story, that of the Rengo, a lamp designed by the studio and handcrafted by artisans.

Rengo is a unique piece that emerges from the union of two different natural-fibre weaving techniques: the manual loom and crochet. At the origin of the lamp lies, once again, nature, this time in the form of the Furcraea plant. Native to the Andean regions of South America, Furcraea is a sculptural plant with a rosette of over one hundred fleshy, pointed leaves. From this marvelous plant is extracted fique, a versatile fibre that finds new life in Let’s Pause lamps, lending them organic shapes, warm and welcoming tones, and a sophisticated character.

Each Rengo lamp is shaped by time and patience, both dictated not only by the processes required to work the fibre but by nature itself. The Rengo story begins in the farmers’ fields, where workers patiently wait for the right moment to cut the stalks. It then passes through the machinery that extracts the fibre from the leaves, before moving to the water pits where the fibres are submerged for hours and later dried in the sun, resting quietly on ropes or stones. The story continues unfolding slowly, step by step, with the fibres carefully combed and dyed—using exclusively natural pigments—before returning once more to the artisans’ hands for spinning and final weaving.

Experimenting with the endless possibilities of handicraft, the artisans shape the body of the Rengo lamp using the traditional manual loom, joining the fabrics together with a delicate double-crochet stitch. This latter technique is also applied to the upper and lower edges of the lamp. From the interplay of these two methods arise the fluid, lively, and unique silhouettes of the lamps.

Rengo is a versatile element that brings warmth and light with subtle grace. Each piece is absolutely unrepeatable – never identical to the one produced before – and it’s a gentle presence in any interior space. The value of Let’s Pause’s approach resides in the capacity to bring to life design pieces that are no longer inanimate objects, but, somehow, beings full of life. They stand as small witnesses to a complex story: one that begins in nature and, in time, is destined to return to it.