Lamp Post

Having failed to incorporate repurposed or recycled materials into my stool, I decided to focus on designing around this parameter for the lamp assignment.

I was struck by a number of designs that incorporated reused materials, including the three below:

stoplight, ping pong balls, cup holder crates

My lamp research also illuminated my preference for exposed bulbs and interesting ways to use bulbs as a structural element. Here are a few of my favorites along this theme.

My first several thrift store visits in search of materials yielded only a simple wire frame stand and a round glass vase. I drilled a hole through the base of the frame through which to wire the lamp and was hoping to attach the vase to the stand with some sort of frame structure.

This first approach was inspired in part by a series of lamps in the steam punk style that Noah sent our way (pictured below).

thanks frank buchwald

Unfortunately, after two unsuccessful trips to Vercesi Hardware and an awkward attempt to bend a metal wreath hanger into a support frame, I was feeling uninspired by this design.

There was a brief bit of hope for this design when my roommate suggested that I flip the frame over to create a hanging lamp. The frame was indeed much more interesting when inverted, but I was still feeling unsure about this approach.

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In the meantime, I came upon another neat lamp design by Egg Collective in which bare bulbs were attached to large stumps of wood:

I thought this design was beautiful and hoped to mimic its simplicity by attaching a bulb to an interesting found object. I came upon an awesome antique shop while walking home one day and found a broken box camera that I thought could make for an excellent lamp. Conveniently, the film winding mechanism and film viewing holes at the rear of the camera provided great locations to install the push switch and to wire the cord.

So, here it is!

the original

on / off

guts

A pretty simple design, but I think it accomplished my objectives of incorporating found materials and exposed bulbs. Given the time constraints of the project, I'm really happy with what I was able to put together (and what I learned about electricity) in a week!

P.S. A special thanks to Noah, Jesse, Leela, and Honda for making this such a wonderful class! I've really appreciated all your feedback and hope to keep in touch!