On a sweltering July day in Calabria, at my parents' house, I was looking through some photos of my daughter Carolina while she slept beside me, curled up in her little wicker basket. I alternated these photos with ultrasound images from her gestation, following the incredible progression of her development over nine months until she was fully formed.
I was there for every check-up, experiencing the joy of each milestone. I’ll never forget the thrill of discovering her gender at 17 weeks. As I watched her now, peacefully sleeping, I was filled with wonder at the sight of my beautiful daughter.
While she slept, I began absentmindedly doodling on a supermarket flyer, tracing random curves and lines. Suddenly, Carolina stirred, waking me from my state of enchantment. I felt an idea forming, but I didn’t yet understand what it was.
Later that evening, as I smoked my Toscano on the balcony, I looked back at the flyer, and it all became clear. In those doodles, I saw what I had unknowingly created—the Carolina Table Lamp. Inspired by her ultrasound images, I recreated those shapes in my own way. The two overlapping layers of the lamp, with their intersecting curves, represent the stages of conception, growth, and birth—a purely artistic interpretation of the journey of life.
As soon as I returned to Romania, I crafted the first prototype of the Carolina and brought it home.
This lamp is dedicated to you, my wonderful Carolina—a tribute to the joy and beauty you bring into my life.