The story of the Tamarind collection is one of those rare collaborations that still feels personal. It started in 2021 when Beacon’s pendant buyer, David, discovered these handmade pendants on Instagram through a small design studio and shop in Bali run by two Australian women, Kylie and Tammy. Here, in small family workshops scattered across Berawa and its surrounding villages, each Tamarind pendant begins as a conversation between artistic legacy and modern style. 

From friendship to craftsmanship 

Kylie and Tammy, both originally from Sydney, met through their daughters, who became close friends at school. Drawn to the warmth and creativity of Indonesia, Tammy moved with her family to Bali in 2014, and Kylie soon followed with her husband and children. “When Tammy started the shop,” Kylie says, “there was nothing like that level of curation in the area. Berawa was still a beachy surf village, and the shop became a space that celebrated the beauty of Indonesian craft.” 

The shop began as a physical store filled with textiles, homewares, and locally made pieces. “Everything we create is from Indonesia,” says Tammy. “But it’s important for us to bring our own design and aesthetic. The curation is part of the design process.” 

The hands behind the light 

That process unfolds through close relationships with two major Balinese family collectives - networks of artisans spread across three locations. “The women are the powerhouses of the business,” Kylie explains. “What they foster within their communities is amazing. For us to be able to support women in that way is such an honour.”

“When that hand cuts by hand, that hand is then given a job.” 

Each pendant is shaped through collaboration rather than instruction. Kylie and Tammy share insights into materials and trends, while the artisans guide the process with techniques passed down through generations. “We may impart our own style and what we think will work in the marketplace,” Tammy says, “but they still maintain the traditional aspects of the slow-made, artisan creation. We learn from them.” 

Nothing about the Tamarind range is rushed or mechanical. “All the material is cut by hand, not by machine,” Kylie says. “When that hand cuts by hand, that hand is then given a job.”  

The making of Tamarind 

Each Tamarind shade begins with a mould. Small tags capture the rattan frame, and a fine linen fabric is carefully stretched across it. Once the form takes shape, the mould folds in on itself, slipping free from the opening at the base, leaving behind a shade then left to dry slowly in the tropical air. 

“The beauty of it,” Kylie says, “is that everything is unique because it’s all created by hand. There are little differences within the fabric or in the way the elements have come together. It’s never going to be exactly the same, and that’s what makes it special.” 

Every piece passes through its own form of community quality control at their shipping warehouse, a collective of employees who remove every shade from it’s box to check the integrity of the piece before it is then shipped to Australia. Nothing is mass-produced. Every pendant is made to order. 

From Bali to Beacon 

As the world becomes increasingly automated, Kylie reflects on the deeper meaning of this work. “It’s about the process and the people,” she says. “In a world that is so AI generated, it’s so nice to have something that is so authentic, tangible, and connected to real skill and people.” 

For Beacon, the collaboration with Tammy and Kylie has been a way to connect customers not just to a product, but to a process - one that honours authenticity, patience, and the human hand. The Tamarind linen shade embodies that spirit. Available in ivory and natural, and in a range of shapes and sizes, the shades are designed to suit organic, natural, or Japandi-inspired interiors.