Terre Promise creates handcrafted ceramic lighting that blends natural materials with soulful, timeless design by Dereck Daubechies.
Five years ago, Dereck Daubechies was working in the corporate world and felt a growing need to bring something artistic into his life—or, in his words, “something grounded, slow, and true.” He then decided to join a shared ceramics studio and immediately discovered a passion that felt instinctive.
“For three months, I explored the basics of wheel-throwing one day a week. It was just the beginning, but already the gesture, the silence, and the resistance of the clay spoke to me. I then bought my first wheel and began learning on my own, guided by YouTube, repetition, and intuition. That journey—humble and solitary—gave shape to a much deeper calling,” he told ArchiExpo e-Magazine.
This calling is Terre Promise, the brand Dereck created and officially launched in November 2023. Terre Promise creates and designs contemporary ceramic lighting that invites customers on a moment of pause and a sensory journey of connecting their souls to nature and the self through the vibrations of minerals and their soothing light.
Experimenting with Ceramic Finishes Leads to Award-winning Products
The designer began working with ceramics driven by a deep passion to create objects that stirred emotion. When his second child was born with a visual impairment and faced months of surgeries, that intense and fragile time reshaped his vision and led him to found Terre Promise. As his child recovered,
“During his recovery, he developed a fascination with switches, lampshades, and light. I received that fascination as a message—quiet, yet clear. I decided then to devote myself to creating tactile lights—pieces that invite pause, connection, and presence,” he said.
The designer uses raw minerals to share a calming energy—one that grounds us, slows us down, and brings us back to what matters most. After nearly two years of work and hundreds of Belgian stoneware blends, he created the deeply resonant finishes he had long envisioned.
During these two years of preparation before the brand was officially launched, Dereck also refined other details, such as the leather-covered switches, the wall plugs, and the balance between texture and form. One week after launching Terre Promise, he was awarded the BEL Prizes 2023—a recognition granted by over sixty prestigious Brussels-based houses, including Baobab, Delvaux, Pierre Marcolini, and Neuhaus x Natan.
Later, in February of 2024, Terre Promise was officially certified by Belgium’s Craft Commission. In January 2025, the brand was selected by Belgium for its design for the Belgian pavilion during Maison&Objet in Paris.
Red Stoneware, Vegetable-tanned Leather, and Ideal Lightbulbs for Every Lamp
Terre Promise uses raw materials and highlights the textures and nuances of the earth in its products, celebrating the harmony between ancestral know-how and the magic of contemporary creation. The materials used by the firm are selected with the utmost care, for both their exceptional qualities and their proximity to its Brussels-based production.
The stoneware, for example, comes from Saint-Aubin in southern Belgium where a small-scale quarry extracts rare clays—including a red stoneware that withstands high-temperature firing. Most of the aggregates also come from this small extraction site, with a few components sourced in northern France to add even more uniqueness of textures and depths. The vegetable-tanned leather used in the dimmer switches, on the other hand, comes from a small Italian tannery and has an exquisite tactile quality.
“These materials are not mere components; they are part of the story. They support our invitation to reconnect with matter, to take a moment of pause beside an object that soothes and intrigues. The tactile experience is essential to our vision. I believe that when we fully inhabit our physical sensations, even briefly, we open the door to inner stillness, to clarity, and to renewed well-being,” Daubechies said.
Trained from an early age in traditional martial arts, Dereck has cultivated since childhood a taste for balance, detail, and aestheticism.
The designer finds beauty in the challenge of making complexity feel simple—where every detail is intentional and nothing is missing. This belief shapes everything he creates, from adjustable lampshades designed for quiet reading to hand-picked bulbs that offer the perfect light, ready straight out of the box.
Terre Promise’s Pure Lamp & Bespoke Lighting
Terre Promise’s Pure lamp is made in a micro-series, entirely by hand. It draws inspiration from 1920s mushroom lamps like those of Louis Comfort Tiffany. But where Tiffany played with the translucency of colored glass, Dereck has chosen to celebrate the richness of the earth itself.
“I believe light has the power to reveal the hidden beauty of minerals, to elevate their natural energy and amplify their positive resonance,” he said.
The Pure Lamp has a sleek silhouette that transcends trends and captures the beauty of curves. It celebrates the magic of handcrafted ceramics with materials. It comes in two finish options: Atacama Ride, a sandy shade of beige, and Namibia Trip, a reddish hue of brown. The product is available in three sizes.
Terre Promise also does bespoke lighting, fitting every detail to meet a customer’s needs. In the development of bespoke objects, Terre Promise believes in a collaborative approach during the creative stages. The firm exchanges ideas during consultations and accompanies them in the development of lamps that will reflect their character and style.
Future Plans for Terre Promise: New Pendant Creations and a New Finish
Terre Promise’s handmade production is still just over a year old but is already beginning to grow through an expansion strategy that will involve strong partnerships with high-end interior boutiques, architects, and designers. The brand is already developing a complete range for design professionals—including wall sconces, more functional lighting, and pendant lamps
“My ambition is to reimagine a modern European manufacture of excellence while keeping production local. It is through that rootedness that I hope to gather the best people around me and continue the journey toward excellence,” he said.
At the time of the interview, the designer revealed news exclusively to us about upcoming products: the brand’s first pendant creations and a new finish. Stay tuned!
