Tag Archives: Lights

Glowing Ceramic Tardigrade Night Light

Posted on by

Tardigrades (aka water bears) are some of the most resilient animals on earth, able to survive even the harshest conditions, from extreme heat and cold, to air and food deprivation, to radiation. They’re practically unkillable, so what better animal to keep a watchful eye over you at night than this $16 Tardigrade Night Night from Archie McPhee? Sure, its mouth looks like a nightmare, but that will keep all the other monsters away.

Measuring 4-1/8″ x 2-1/4″, the night light is a traditional ceramic white when not in use but glows a phosphorescent green when turned on (powered by two LR44 batteries, included). Of course, being over four inches long, it’s significantly larger than actual tardigrades, which top out at around 0.5mm full grown. Those are some tiny bears! I still wouldn’t poke one, though, just for the record.

This kind of reminds me of those light-up Hasbro Glo Worm plushies from the ’80s. I think I might still have mine in a box in the basement somewhere. Just don’t listen to my wife if she tries to tell me it’s not in a box because I sleep with it every night. She’s lying. The same goes for whatever she says about my blankie.

Posable Wooden Dog Lamp is One Bright Pup

Posted on by

In the same vein as the previously posted wooden t-rex desk lamp comes this posable wooden dog lamp available from Firebox. Will my dogs get jealous and destroy it? It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve destroyed a lamp; they’re animals. Literally – they’re dogs, and I love them dearly despite their many, MANY flaws.

The top of the dog’s head is touch-sensitive for turning the lamp on and off, and it features three lighting modes and a dimmer switch so your new pet lamp can provide the perfect brightness provided by an energy-efficient LED bulb. Plus, the dog can be powered old-school style via included cord or placed anywhere cordlessly thanks to an internal 2200mAh rechargeable battery. The possibilities are endless!

Now the key is finding a fairy to come visit your wooden dog lamp and bring it to life, just like Pinocchio. Of course, if it pathologically lies the way my dogs do when I ask who got into the treats, it’ll be able to sniff the neighbor’s cat without ever leaving your desk.

E.T. Flying Bike Moon Lamp: E.T. Light Home

Posted on by

Inspired by the iconic scene from the movie where E.T. makes Eliot’s bike fly, Firebox is selling this officially licensed E.T. Moon Lamp. It features a moveable silhouette of Eliot and E.T. against a lit full moon. Just thinking of the scene still brings a tear to my eye. Mostly because it reminds me of those horrible government agents almost killing E.T.

Honestly, there are few things I dreamed about more as a child than meeting an alien friend who could make my bike fly. I can thank E.T. for that. I can also thank E.T. for all the cuts and bruises from trying to make my bike fly without befriending a telekinetic alien first. Stupid gravity.

Powered by two AAA batteries (not included), you can put the lamp absolutely anywhere without the limitations inherent in power cords and electrical outlets. Am I going to use double-sided tape to stick one to the dashboard of my car? Please, does E.T. love Reese’s Pieces?

Karim Rashid and Gantri collaborate to debut the ‘Kobble’ collection of eclectic 3D-printed lamps

Posted on by

It seemed only natural that Karim “Prince of Plastic” Rashid and Gantri would eventually team up to create a signature collection of 3D printed lighting solutions. The collaborative effort, dubbed Kobble, is a collection of lamps printed in Gantri‘s Plant Polymer (GPP) with Karim Rashid‘s signature ‘blobject’ design style.

Inspired by the soft form of cobblestones, the Kobble collection features a Floor, Table, Task, and Wall Light. Each lamp in the collection explores a different silhouette, drawing from the fact that various pebbles and cobblestones look like a part of the same family, but are visually unique in their own way.

The task light from the Kobble collection is easily the most memorable and distinctly Karim-esque of the lot, with an alien-blob aesthetic that gives it an immensely strong character when placed on a desk or table. Its purity of form comes from how seamless the design is (something that Gantri’s made massive leaps and bounds with) and the fact that the switch exists on the cord and not on the lamp itself.

The bubble appearance of the Wall and Table lamps are much more subtle yet still expressive with their voluminous forms. Designed to cast light further and wider than the task lamp, they also come with larger diffusers/shades, allowing that color split between the base and the translucent diffuser to be much more balanced.

Finally, the floor lamp exists as the largest in the collection, allowing your lamp to easily become a statement-piece in any living room or bedroom’s decor. It sports a neo-contemporary design that’s less blob-like compared to the rest of the collection, yet still captures the essence of Karim’s design style and brings it to Gantri’s vast collection of design-driven lighting pieces.

While each piece within the collection can stand on its own, the Kobble lights work seamlessly as a group to create balanced lighting throughout the home. Complete with a museum-grade LED bulb, custom dimmer switch, and made with innovative plant-based materials, every light from the Kobble Collection was built in Gantri’s factory, redefining American-made design.

Kobble Collection is available in Carbon Black as well as 3 new colorways – Blossom Pink, Sprout Green, and Glossy Snow. Karim’s designs will be available to purchase starting October 28th, 2021 with pricing starting at $148.

Designer: Karim Rashid for Gantri

These solar-powered camping accessories create the perfect glamping experience through their sleek, modern design

Posted on by

For eco-conscious travelers and adventure seekers who want their environmental footprint to be minimal, this collection of mindful camping accessories is the way to go.

Camping is gaining a lot of traction globally. According to surveys, the glamping and camping industry in the US alone is likely to grow up to 2.07 and 4.6 billion by 2026. In such a scenario, designers are toiling with ways to give avid campers various reasonable options to enhance their experience. There has thus been a considerable rise in the camping accessory with sustainable design bent, and the Shinola Camping Accessory Set titled Elves is just an extension of the collective idea.

The camping gear comprises solar-powered independent items that are designed primarily for conscious travelers who want to camp in the wilderness with little or no impact on the environment whatsoever. The highlight of the gear is the smokeless camping fire pit, which is portable, lightweight, and easy to set up. Other accessories comprising the Elves include a coffee brewer, tableware, and hanging lights.

Made with the idea to give your camping a glamping lift – sans environmental impact, the glamorous camping accessories have a sensory appeal and are all powered by clean energy. Yes, everything from the tripod-style fire pit to the drip coffee brewer and the hanging pendant lights to tableware is powered by the sun. The reimagined camping gear is made in a way that it can charge by the day and emit by night providing you an exciting experience out in the wilderness.

The S’more pit comes complete with an area to roast marshmallows, while the hanging lights create an interesting ambiance at the campsite and also light the way in occasional night walks to the loo. Featuring solar panels on the upper curved surface, the tableware diffuses light from within, and the coffee brewer keeps its station lighted while and after your cup of Joe is served. The entire set of accessories is inspired by minimalism, celebration, and environment, and that symbolism is carried beyond the looks.

Designer: Simpo Design

Bring your home to life with these inspirational Gantri lighting designs!

Posted on by

Homes is where our our heart is, a 100% right now. The past year has taught us to look at this tiny space in a whole new light! While we can’t get rid of all the cables that snake across our desk, or the random products that end up on our couch, what makes or breaks our interior is the lighting we choose. In fact, the right light can make your clutter seem aesthetic too! My choice of aesthetics is the Japandi aesthetics – a mix of Japanese minimalism and Scandinavian design elements that emphasize a clean, clutter-free interior with mood lighting and warm tones. In my aim to find the perfect light setting, I came across Gantri – the brand that connects with the best industrial designers of our time to create a lamp that is made from plants! Gantri uses the world’s first sugar-derieved PLA blends that promises tough material that does not harm the planet. Ticks all your boxes, doesn’t it? To add a bit of minimal magic to your home, here are some of my handpicked lamp designs from Gantri that will elevate your work setup to a whole new level!

Click Here to Buy Now: $128 $148 ($20 off with exclusive coupon code “YANKO20”). Hurry, offer ends July 5, 11:59 pm PST.

The Art Deco movement of the late 19th century helped create new relationships between architecture and geometry. In a time that was certainly considered flourishing, just before the world wars, Art Deco beautifully combined European sensibilities with Eastern and South-American exotic styles, while expressing itself through simple-yet-complex geometric forms and shapes… quite like Picasso’s Cubist art, but with arguably more attention to symmetry and composition. The Arintzea Collection from Muka Design Lab and Gantri pays a tribute to Art Deco’s influences within Basque architecture.

With its jagged, low-poly edges, the Iceberg Table Lamp by Hannah Fink for Gantri looks quite like its source of inspiration, although it promises not to disappear as a consequence of global warming. Made in corn-based PLA, using 3D printing techniques (Gantri’s speciality), the Iceberg Lamp comes with a warm LED light on the inside to give it a cozy glow as it sits on your desk or by your bed. The jagged edges on the Iceberg come with functionality too. The form allows you to dock devices such as mobile phones and tablets between its geometrically sculpted peaks, allowing the lamp to also serve as a stand for your smart-devices. Part ambient light, part smartphone stand, and full heartwarming design!

Meet the Palm lights, a light collection designed for working from home. The Palm is designed to help you channel your focus, creating a comforting workspace that also boosts your productivity. The Palm creation is designed by Gantri’s wellness initiative, Reach. Delivering 270 degree of motion, Palm’s design shines light directly on your desk without inducing eye strain, at the same time, the base occupies as little space as possible to keep your desk clutter-free.

Aptly named Encore, this lamp, by Sam Does Design, is filled with visual metaphors. It comes 3D-printed in Gantri’s special Plant Polymer (GPP), and even though the body of the lamp’s made entirely out of hard plastic, its curtain-inspired form, combined with the material’s inherent translucency, gives it a delicate, fabric-esque appeal, allowing it to look less industrial and more soft and inviting. The Encore is all about visual poetry. While the Weight flipped the ‘light’ aspect of the lamp, making it something that’s actually visually heavy, Encore is rich with an element of performance. Inspired by the curtains that separate an audience from the stage, the Encore lamp plays the very apt role of stage-lighting that brings the room to life when switched on. The Encore’s switch sits on its power-cord, with a diffuser slider for you to adjust brightness, but cleverly enough, its top-view is a modern reinterpretation of the switch… designed to look like the digital icon found on touchscreen interfaces.

Dieter Rams dictates that good design should be simple. The Cantilever lamp by Gantri is the perfect example of this concept. Cantilever is a simple, spherical table light with a whimsical twist – the off center globe sits on an elevated base, washing its surroundings in a warm glow. The geometric design with its warm appeal will make you smile, almost like a loved one inviting you home everytime you walk in.

Muka Design Lab’s Maskor fits comfortable, be it your desktop or your bedside. The award-winning studio is a practitioner of the Slow Design Movement, a movement that focuses on sourcing locally, designing thoughtfully and help people live int he present. Made from Gantri’s sugar-derieved PLA blends, the Maskor (Basque word for seashell) takes inspiration from the texture found on the seashell. Wherever placed, this lamp gives you an almost meditative property and makes it perfect to help cut out distractions.

Suyo mixes light and functionality, which makes it a perfect fit for those uber-busy desk setups that have no space to spare. Be it a plant or upir pencils or any other random knick knacks you choose, Suyo will be the faithful assistant at your side when you need it. Designer McKay Nilson from NYC designed Suyo to create and emotional connection with the objects we share around us. Keeping that in mind, I would certainly double up Suyo as a planter,make it my happy space.

Float is the lamp with a story to tell. Inspired by the Japanese glass fishing floats, the lamp is designed to mimic the gently floating motion of these boats. This lamp can be hung by your desk setup or keep it on your table, the design is sure to attract the attention of everyone who comes across it. Designer Viviana Degrandi says “When it’s on a table, it almost seems like the sphere is floating on water. I wanted to create a light that was flexible, gentle, and simple — that would fit in any room of the home.”

Add a touch of retro with Nicholas Baker’s Pixel! The Brooklyn based designer has a unique inspiration behind this lamp, and he explains,”While shining light through a 3D print, Baker noticed a unique illuminated effect from the print’s grid-like internal structure. Baker expanded upon this effect and drew further inspiration from the retro-digital world and it’s 8bit iconography. Pixel features a diffusive grid where each square emits a different level of lighting – giving the appearance of a “pixelated” light.”

Designed to help declutter your nightstand as well as help you de-clutter your mind, the TRAY light serves as an ambient lamp that also holds and organizes your bedside items like your spectacles, water bottle, phone, etc. It features an accordion-inspired lampshade that glows with a fluted/banded design, atop which sits an opaque tray that holds your belongings. At 9.25 x 9.25 inches, it fits comfortably on most bedside tables, and offers enough surface area for all your belongings. When the lamp’s switched on, your objects are cast in a diffused light that bounces around your room. Without creating any glare or appearing too bright, the TRAY Table Light lets you easily spot and access your belongings and even see clearly around your bedroom. The TRAY Table Light comes as a collaborative effort between Silvon and Gantri. Like all of Gantri’s lamps, the TRAY is 3D printed out of the proprietary Gantri Plant Polymer (GPP) and treated with a matte finish. The inside of the lamp is fitted with a 6W LED bulb, and the TRAY also has a dimmer switch integrated into its TPE electrical cord.

Click Here to Buy Now: $128 $148 ($20 off with exclusive coupon code “YANKO20”). Hurry, offer ends July 5, 11:59 pm PST.

The Wisdom Tree Bookshelf Keeps Your Place in up to Five Books

Posted on by

Reading: it’s fundamental. And for those of you who can’t get enough and feel the need to read multiple books at once, there’s the Wisdom Tree, an illuminated plywood tree that can hold up to five books, keeping the page you’re on for quick and easy access to all those delicious words to fill your brain up with.

The Wisdom Tree is made by Bookniture and is currently available for pre-order for $69, with shipping in August 2021. Does it also work for comic books? I sure hope so, because they’re basically all I read. Well, those, and the backs of cereal boxes.

You know my wife likes to read multiple books at once. She also never finishes any of them. So, what was the last book you read? Mine was Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. I’ll be honest — it’s not as good as the first one. Thank you, this concludes my TED Talk.

[via The Awesomer]

LED Bow Ties Light Up the Night

Posted on by

Because nothing says I’m a fancy gentleman from the future like a light-up bow tie, these are the Glow in the Dark LED Bow Ties created by Neon Nightlife and available on Amazon (affiliate link) for $25.  The adjustable ties are available in seven different colors (aqua, green, blue, orange, pink, red, and white) and are powered by a single AAA battery for approximately 10 hours of light.

In addition to the standard ‘on’ mode, the ties can also be set to a ‘slow blink’ mode to ensure you catch the eye of everyone at the cocktail party.

So, do you think James Bond will be wearing one of these in his next film? Because I would if I were him. Of course, if I were him I’d also probably fail to thwart the plot to melt the polar ice caps and flood the world and get fired from MI6. Then what? Then I’m just a handsome devil in an LED bow tie with a battery that died hours ago, sipping a martini the bartender insisted would have to be my last before I’m asked to leave. So yeah, I guess you could say I’d make a pretty great spy.

Los Angeles’ new modular streetlight design lights the path for the city’s future!

Posted on by

The 2028 Summer Olympics slated to be held in Los Angles will bring the city into the limelight, bringing every minute detail under the scanner. To help revamp the city’s public realm to host the mega sporting event, the LA Lights the Way streetlight design competition was undertaken.

The brainchild of the Mayor’s Office with the Bureau of Street Lighting, the competition wanted a standard lighting system that keeps every aspect of the city in mind. From amongst the 110 team entries, the winner has managed to impress the judging panel, standing out with its future-forward design that’ll touch virtually every corner of the neighborhoods. Project Room came up with its iteration dubbed Superbloom, and it fits perfectly with the design competition requirements. The simplistic yet modular design of the streetlight is crafted keeping in mind the flexibility to include things like benches, EV charging stations, traffic monitors, solar panels, and of course of LED lights on top. Depending on the location where the streetlight will be erected, it can reach any desired height or configuration. The practical aspect of the streetlight is highly aesthetic and feasible since it is designed in consultation with structural experts. It is more like a blooming flower bouquet with elements propping-up along its length, depending on the specific needs of the location. As Mayor Eric Michael Garcetti rightly expressed, “Project Room’s design illuminates a future that does more than brighten public spaces — it brings smarter design to our neighborhoods, helps us combat climate change, and promotes equity across our city.” “Contemporary streetlights are very sculptural but also very monolithic, and I think this design is much more of a kit of parts, using very standardized components,” says the lead designer Joakim Dahlqvist. “It’s just pipes and the collar that holds them together.”

Now that Superbloom has won the competition along with a winning amount of $70,000, soon the prototype will be created and tested for its structural as well as functional integrity. The jury for the competetion included Christopher Hawthorne (L.A.’s chief design officer and former Los Angeles Times architecture critic) who stated that the jury voted on the design blindly but he was enthused to learn that the winners were a local team as the design shares a distinct understanding of the metropolitan culture that is L.A., “It really reflects a city that doesn’t have a single identity and is able to recast itself in certain ways,” The funds for the development will come from L.A.’s city budget and you could very well see thousands of these streetlights in the coming years.

Designer: Project Room