Lummi Lights are not just special because they are so beautiful.  They are special because of the people and the processes that go into making htem. Traditional Cotton Ball The Lummi balls are created from a traditional craft of yarn ball making that originates from Thailand. It is their textural color in daylight and the effect of the light through the layers of yarn when on that makes them so special and gives them their unique atmospheric glow.

Used of Cotton Wool Ball

Yarn balls are also known as cotton balls, but they are not made out of real cotton because the wire is too weak and breaks too often for the artisans to work with and is not of a high quality, Cotton Ball so polyester-yarn is used. Creating consistently high-quality balls with the right amount of layers takes a lot of skill– too little yarn and they collapse or you don’t get enough color showing, too much and you don’t get enough light showing. Four vital ingredients go into making our Yarn balls which are then paired with our LED light cables;
  • Yarn that is dyed using natural-color materials.
  • Balloons – We don’t use plastic-balloons, we use natural-latex balloons which are biodegradable.
  • Glue hand-made in-house with a mix of Rice flour starch and natural (non-toxic, non-flammable) LATEX glue.
  • Talented Fair Trade Artisans who are trained in how to ‘hand twist the yarn to make the balls which takes a lot of practice to ensure consistency.
You can see more of the Fair Trade production here For our Lummi lights and lampshades, different sized balloons are used, but the process is the same. In order for the Lummi balls to go onto the light cable we put a small cut in each one so that the LED bulbs can be inserted and the balls stay put on the cable when you hang them. The end product is a versatile decoration and light that can be used in many ways. Cotton Bal Check here for some ideas to get you started. My favorite places for my Lummi lights are in my office as a comforting presence especially in the winter when the days are darker and also draped next to my bed where it gives off enough light to read and helps me to wind down at the end of the day. I’m hooked and change the colors depending on the season.