Lighting Fixtures … To never leave your house …

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a lighting design lecture at the San Francisco Design Center and learnt about three incredible lighting designers. Here are they designs …

CLEAR BAND PENDANTS by John Pomp Studios. ~ Hand-blown crystal glass pendant fixture with thick clear band lens and edison bulb.

INFINITY CLUSTER by John Pomp Studios. ~ 15 pieces of hand-blown/sculpted glass crystal with iridescence.

NESTING CYLINDERS SCONCES by John Pomp Studios. ~ Two tiered hand-blown glass cylinders on blackened steel frame.

Ballad Wall Sconce by McEwen Lighting Studio

Signal Floor Lamp by McEwen Lighting Studio

Barrel Ceiling Lamp by McEwen Lighting Studio

Richelieu Chandelier by Jonathan Browning Studios

Cinq sconce by Jonathan Browning Studios

Keule 5 Light Chandelier by Jonathan Browning Studios

Now dim those lights and finish the day with a delicious glass of Carménère.

I cut an albero’s leg

Sometimes forgetting about projects that you worked so hard, you had dreams and nightmares with is very easy.

Two years ago, I was spending long days at the DAI wood shop working on a torchiere assignment for my Rapid Prototyping class. The goal of the assignment was not only to design but also to build a lamp using CNC (computer numerical control) technology. My goal was to become familiar with the ShopBot and to make the Epilog Laser Engraver my best friend. For a whole semester, this assignment became my life, then it came with me to the four different places I lived in, until finally landing at my current “stable” home. Through all the moves, my poor torchiere survived crashes and a few parties. Today, I hugged her and decided to give her a new look by cutting 15″ off her tall leg. I am not sure if I made the best decision, but at least now she has a new look to be around for another couple of years (hopefully without moving so much). After all, a $500 torchiere should last you at least half decade right?

Let me introduce you the process of designing and building my beautiful (no joke) Albero Lamp:

Research: Understanding how a torchiere works.

Finding inspiration in the Architectural and Fashion worlds.

Study Sketches: 3-4 out of 25.

Study Sketches: 7-8.

Study Sketches: 11-12.

Study Sketches: 15-16.

Study Sketches: 19-20.

Initial 1/4" scale study models.

First 1/2" scale study model. This day was a painful one.

Finding a double layer of inspiration at the Academy of Sciences.

First full-scale prototype out of cardboard.

Expressing my love for endangered species and the epilog laser. Match made in heaven.

Finishing the Albero Torchiere. Made out of FSC certified maple appleply, brown English oak and plexiglass.

Her original height was six feet and starting today she has become a four-foot and three-quarters babe.

Happy indian summer,

~Isabel

Ciao ciao incandescent lighting

Ikea makes an environmental statement by removing incandescent light bulbs from their North American stores. The process will begin on August 1, and the goal is to have incandescent lighting completely eliminated from their shelves by January 1, 2011.

According to Mona Astra from Ikea “When you walk into the store on Jan. 1, you will not see one incandescent light bulb,” (NY Times). Ikea wants to make a difference first by eliminating plastic bags from their registers and now by phasing out incandescent light bulbs.

from incandescent to halogen

In order to keep offering light bulbs that fit in standard sockets and have a similar color rendering from incandescent lighting, the Swedish company will be introducing halogen light bulbs.

IKEA also provides solar-powered lighting alternatives such as the SUNNAN desk lamp and the SOLIG outdoor lights.

Some facts:

• Approximately 90% of the power consumed by an incandescent light bulb is emitted as heat, rather than as visible light.
• An incandescent bulb lasts about 750 to 1,000 hours in normal use. It’s not very efficient as in the process of radiating light, it also radiates an immense amount of infrared heat – much more heat than light.
• Halogen bulbs include a lifespan which is twice as long as that of an incandescent bulb.
• A halogen bulb produces around 25% more light from the same wattage of an incandescent bulb.  This makes it incredibly energy efficient.
• Incandescent light bulbs are already banned in Europe.
• CFLs last from 6-10 times longer than incandescent light bulbs (6000 – 10,000 vs. 1,000 hours) and use 80% less energy. Due to this lower energy use, they can save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb’s lifetime. (EnergyStar.gov)
• If every American household replaced 1 incandescent bulb with a CFL bulb we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for 1 year.(EnergyStar.gov)
• According to 18seconds.org, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with a CFL, we would prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than two million cars and families would save more than $600 million in annual energy costs. The average American family spends $1,900 on energy bills each year. (green.yahoo.com/18seconds)

Read more at Ikea’s press release.