About us
We turn moments into light
Chaya (छाया) means “shadow”. We're a design studio in Bangalore making shadow lamps from the photos people care about most: pets, partners, parents, places.
Our story
Chaya started with a simple question: what if a lamp could hold a memory? A photo on a shelf is easy to stop seeing. A shadow that appears on your wall every evening is harder to ignore.
Making that work took more than a 3D printer. A shadow only looks right if the wall casting it is shaped precisely for where the light sits, so we built our own design software. It goes from an ordinary photo to a printable lamp, keeping the detail that makes a face or a pet recognisable.
Today every Chaya lamp is designed, printed, assembled and tested in our studio, one order at a time.
What we believe
How we work
Made to order
We don't keep shelves of identical lamps. Every Chaya starts with your photo and is printed only once you've approved its shadow.
Engineered, not guessed
Our in-house design software traces your subject, carves in interior detail and calculates the exact wall shape needed to cast it, down to the millimetre.
Checked before it ships
Each lamp is assembled and switched on in our studio, and its shadow is compared against the preview you approved before it leaves.
Your photos stay yours
The photos you send are used only to make your lamp. We never share or publish them without your permission.
Inside the studio
From photo to lamp
Design
Silhouette extraction, detail carving and shadow-wall geometry, generated from your photo.
Preview
You see the predicted shadow before anything is made, and can ask for changes.
The base and shadow wall are 3D printed in our Bangalore studio.
Finish & test
Parts are cleaned, assembled with magnets and light, and tested in the dark.
Have a photo in mind?
Start an order, or write to us at hello@chaya.example.