Driven by curiosity and built on purpose, this is where creative female thinking meets thoughtful execution—and harks back to slow living, timelessness and the value of handmade craft to create truly precious objects.
The Kindred Lantern Studio
Each Kindred Lantern is handmade across the studios of A Little Light (Jo Schoof) and Unearthed Ceramics (Katrina Carling), both located in Northern Melbourne/Naarm. The lantern combines traditional craft techniques with a focus on slow, intentional making.
Every lantern is made to order by Jo and Katrina and requires a 3-week lead time.
The Wax Lantern
A special mould crafted from a hand-etched prototype is used to shape every wax lantern. Each lantern is hand-poured from a microcrystalline and paraffin wax blend.
The ultra-hard lantern wax has a high melting point and will retain its shape when lit. Due to its unique translucence, the wax allows the glow of every purpose-built candle to emanate from within the lantern’s textured walls.
The Ceramic Plinth
The ceramic base is made from a blend of two Australian mid-fire clays. Wedged by hand and then thrown on the wheel—a centuries-old method! Once dry, the cylinder is individually hand carved and fired. Both glazes for the lantern are studio recipe glazes and applied in-situ at the Unearthed Studio. A second firing to 1200 degrees then sets the ceramic base for the lantern shade.
A small hand built ceramic dish holds the internal candle, made from Australian clay and pressed with the A Little Light & Unearthed Ceramics signature collaboration brand mark.
The Lantern Candles
Handcrafted in the A Little Light studio, these purpose-built lantern candles were specifically designed to light up your Kindred Lantern.
They burn cleanly and brightly, illuminating the lantern’s hand-carved surface with a steady, luminous glow. Each lantern candle is hand-poured in our Northern Melbourne studio using our signature textured cold-pour technique.
The Packaging
Your Kindred Lantern and all of its components come carefully packaged within a custom-designed, hand-painted tube. Each tube is adorned with rows of brush strokes, a pattern designed to echo the unique hand-carved texture of the Kindred Lantern it protects. Like the Kindred Lantern itself, no two tubes bear the same painted texture, a feature that speaks of the handmade nature of the crafting process.
An assembly and care instructions booklet is housed within every tube, its pages individually printed on delicate washi paper crafted from natural fibres. The pages have a beautiful translucence, similar to that of the wax lantern. Each booklet is trimmed and assembled by hand, before finally being bound by a hand-sewn saddle stitch.
Every purchase from the Kindred Lantern store arrives with a branded postcard containing a handwritten message from either Jo or Katrina.
Sustainability
We care deeply about the environmental and social implications of our work. In every decision we make, we consider our impacts on the planet and our fellow humans. We hope this lantern travels with you through all the different stages of life that you have. We believe in longevity for this product.
The Unearthed Ceramics studio is 100% renewable energy powered, with minimal clay and water-waste measures built into its practices. It’s kiln is highly efficient, and all soft plastics are recycled.
Our packaging is produced locally, using sustainable and reusable materials. Expandable kraft FSC certified paper is used to protect your Kindred Lantern during transportation.
We work with environmentally and socially focused local printing houses to produce small runs of our labels and postcards, while our tubes are individually hand painted by a local creative.