There’s something about made-by-hand processes that add exclusivity and importance to a product. When artisans have spent their entire lives (or even generations!) perfect a technique, it reflects in their craftsmanship. That’s what attracted the Doti Sutra team to the calabash gourd lamp, one of the most unique products in our store.

As part of our home decor line, Calabash gourd lamps are as beautiful as they are functional. Available in a wide range of colours and designs, these lamps add flair and personality to any space while reflecting Turkish culture and art.

What is a Calabash Gourd Lamp?

The calabash gourd is actually a vine-grown fruit and is sometimes called a bottle gourd or long melon. For centuries, gourds have been grown as food as well as to be turned into a variety of useful objects, such as water vessels, birdhouses, eating utensils, and even musical instruments. The gourd fruit is matured, cut, and dried, then fashioned into various objects for everyday use. 

For our artisan, the Calabash gourd became the root of an entire business. A family from Bodrum, Turkey saw unique potential in gourds as lamps and started experimenting with varying techniques to carve, colour, and create their dreams. 

In its simplest form, a calabash gourd lamp is a dried gourd fruit that has been hollowed out, cleaned, and delicately and intricately carved into a unique design. It’s outfitted with an electric light source, and when turned on, the light splays across the wall in a beautiful pattern (according to the lamp’s design).

What’s Special about Calabash Gourd Lamps?

Arguably, the gourd lamp’s beauty is matched only by the wonder of how it’s made. Each gourd lamp takes anywhere from 2 to 4 months to create. Once the fruit has reached full maturity, our artisans need to let the fruit dry and harden before they can start turning nature’s bounty into a work of art. 

Because each lamp is made from a real gourd, no two gourd lamps will be quite alike. Aside from variances in size and shape, our partners continually come up with new decorative patterns to delight customers around the world. The pattern is drawn on the outside of the gourd, then holes are drilled based on the pattern to create fun, unique illumination patterns on walls, ceilings, and floors.  

The lamp also undergoes a dye process to colour all of the little crevices that give character to every lamp. The combination of dye and varying hole sizes creates a 3D textured effect on the lamp, and the result is nothing short of captivating.

 When lit, calabash gourds create a unique ambiance that you just don’t get from your average floor lamp. Light and color play together to give off relaxing, stress-free vibes. It’s calming, soothing, and spa-like, and gives you instant bohemian energy.

About the Artisans

We source all of our calabash gourd lamps from a small business in Bodrum. Started by one man inspired by his brother, he brings his background in construction teaching to his craft, combining technical knowledge and skill with artistic vision. He has now been producing gourd lamps for over 15 years and has made thousands of lamps to date. 

 In addition to the more than 200 models he stocks, he also creates custom pieces. Customers use calabash gourd lamps as nightlights, office decor, home decor, gifts for family and friends, and many other uses, each one displaying the beauty of these nature-made lamps to their fullest. Purchasing a gourd lamp directly supports the artisan, whose life work is to share this unique art form with the world.

Shop Calabash Gourd Lamps at Doti Sutra

At Doti Sutra, we’ve travelled the world in search of artistic inspiration and have brought back many of the treasures we discovered to our store. The Calabash gourd lamp continues to mesmerise us and our customers with its delicate beauty, ambiance, and uniqueness. 

Shop our collection of handmade Calabash gourd lamps from Turkey and turn your home into a palace of zen.