Pieces of wooden lanterns being assembled on a craft table.

The Making of Our New Wood Lanterns

I’m excited to share the creative process behind our latest product release: Wood Lanterns!

For a while now, I've been working on designing laser-cut candle holders, and I’m proud of the beautiful pieces we've created. Our Howl candle holder remains our best seller, thanks to the amazing designs that Chelsea brings to life. While we will continue to develop our candle holder line, I wanted to introduce something more intricate and customizable for future lanterns. We’re thrilled to add this new addition to our collection.

Inspiration and Concept

The inspiration for this lantern design came from our love for cozy, vintage aesthetics and desire to incorporate unique designs including our favorite movie, video game, and animated characters. I envisioned a lantern that would not only serve as a light source but also as a piece of art that brings warmth and character to any room. I decided to opt for an LED candle instead of a wax candle, as open flames always pose a small concern. Adding lantern paper to diffuse the light would only add to the potential of a fire hazard 🔥..

Designing the Lantern

The design process began with sketching (poorly 🥲) various patterns and shapes to complement the natural beauty of wood. I used our existing candleholder design and modified it to have small rounded legs, adding a touch of ornate detail, as you would expect from a lantern. I also added depth to the top of the candle holder to accommodate a lid with a lip, ensuring it stays securely in place without sliding or moving around.

Laser Cutting the Wood

With the initial design ready, it was time for testing! For test designs, I typically use Baltic Birch measuring roughly 3.2mm (1/8 inch). This wood is not stained, sanded, or finished—just raw plywood for a very incomplete prototype.

The first cut, or two, or three... are typically failures. Something often doesn't fit correctly from concept to cut, laser settings are off, I glue something backwards, or make a dumb mistake. I've learned to embrace the testing stage as an opportunity to learn from my many mistakes, knowing that I am thorough with the completed product.

Adding Color with Dyed Vellum Paper

To enhance the lantern's visuals, I decided to use some kind of dyed paper. I searched online and found other creators that gave me some inspiration. The options I decided to chose from were Mulberry paper or Vellum paper. Since I was familiar with Vellum paper and can get it just about anywhere I went ahead and picked up a pack.

Dying it was fun and messy. I tried some different methods and had decent results, in the end I found that an easy quick way to get colors and gradients I wanted was to fine tune my printer settings and run the paper through the printer. After a few printer jams, I finally got it working. This method prints a thick layer of ink on the vellum paper, permanently dyeing it so it can be viewed from either side. Is it artisanal...? Not at all, but the result was solid and until I have mastered hand dying this is the best looking method. I plan to test Mulberry paper when I have the time and hope to offer that as an option since it has a more textured appearance.

Assembling the Lantern

Assembly is similar to the hundreds of boxes and candle holders I've been tinkering with over the last several months. The difference was creating a two-layer four-sided design. Our previous layered candle holders had either one or two sided designs with two layers, meaning I didn't have to account for the wood meeting at the corners. After some struggle, I found the easiest method was to cut 3.2 mm off of the right side of the inner inserts to give each one room to fit securely at a 90-degree angle to the previous insert. You can't see this adjustment through the frame, and it actually makes the fit more secure. I plan to design tabs on the inserts to make this assembly process easier, but with some patience, the pieces fit together perfectly.

I also needed to securely adhere the vellum paper to the inside of the lantern. It turned out to be a bit easier than I expected, though I'm continually finding better and faster ways to build. I use a thick CA glue around the edges and center of the insert before cutting it out. After several failed attempts, I finally completed a lantern that I was happy with.

Finished Product

The finished product is sanded and stained wood, finished with a beeswax orange oil wood conditioner. Inside is a a dyed vellum paper that diffuses the light and casts an inviting glow. I am working on recreating all of our candle holders as slightly larger, more intricate lanterns. Our old candle holders aren't going anywhere; we still love making them and use them daily in our own home. However, the updated design offers more customization with diffused color, lid options, and multi-layer designs.

 

Hopefully you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at our new lanterns.  We plan to start adding blog posts about new products, progress, ideas, and challenges.

Cya soon! 👋

-Damyn

 

Products Used for This Lantern Creation (Affiliate Links)

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