It started with a marble. A marble lamp that Martha Fish, owner of Milton Market here in Litchfield, purchased years ago at the Chelsea Flea Market.

It reminded her and me of the marbles we used to play with as kids, precious objects that you could carry in your hand or amass in a sack made of purple velvet and gold stitching. A form we kept coming back to when the people behind Troutbeck, the revered hotel in the Hudson Valley, got in touch to commission lamps for their upcoming inn in Litchfield.

So, we reduced the proportions until it was small enough to fit in a palm but big enough to feel substantial. And rendered the elongated shades, like those of old oil lamps, in custom hand-marbled paper.

In total 12 models were produced, in glazes such as chalk, red clay, sea, and bottle green, which can be found dotted around Belden House and for purchase at Milton Market, two blocks from the inn.