Hello chickadees. Are you excited over Spring’s arrival? LaZiguezon certainly is and spent the greater part of the week basking in glorious sunshine. This got me thinking about the properties of light, which led me to ponder over the development of modern lighting. So, dear Crasstalkers, today’s post will be about the illuminating qualities of Scandinavian design as it pertains to floor lamps, table lamps, and pendant lamps. Oh my!
Designed by Poul Henningsen (Danish) for Louis Poulsen in 1958, the “PH5” pendant lamp is meant to hang low above a table. The lamp consists of three concentric shades (a cone and two smaller colored shades in red and blue) and was designed to eliminate visual glare. Henningsen named it the PH5 because the diameter of the top shade is 50cm. The number “5” refers to 5 decimeters (19.7″).
The “FlowerPot” table lamp was designed by Verner Panton (Danish) in 1969 and was named after the happy days of Flower Power. Finally, something worth immortalizing from the swinging 60s.
Designed by Christian Raeder (Danish) in 1970, the “Joker” pendant lamp won first prize at the Scandinavian Lighting Fair in 1971. Made from hand-folded PVC, the lamp opens out into a geometric flower sculpture while simultaneously evoking Batman-style wing imagery as its base. Relaunched in 2008, the “Joker” is now available in several colors via Le Klint.
It’s a rabbit table lamp! It’s a horse floor lamp! It’s “Animal things” by the amazing four-person, all-female – “Who wouldn’t want a horse to lighten up your living room and a pig to serve your guests?” – Swedish design group Front. Animal things was designed for the Moooi lighting collection in 2006.
Designed in 2006 by Hanna Brogård (Swedish), the “Pearl Chandelier” is in the shape of an oversized brooch. Made with porcelain and opal glass, the Pearl is available c/o Lampister.
Some may see a naked incandescent hanging light bulb. I see sheer simplistic brilliance. The “E27” pendant lamp was designed by Mattias Ståhlbom (Swedish) for Muuto in 2008.
Lastly, Kicki Möller’s (Swedish) “Möllerlamporna” pendant lamps have got to be one of the most beautiful creations. Made out of uniquely hand-painted white steel frames, the shades are covered using lace from surplus stock.
