The Uplift, made to sit on your desk, was designed to occupy little physical space but a lot of attention. Mounted on a magnetically powered axle, this wooden spiral spins continuously in a soothing fashion, in the hopes of pulling your eyes away from screens and displays, and to something that’s more physical and relaxing. The Uplift is the literal embodiment of the phrase “watching this on loop”.

Titled the Uplift, the spiraling wooden structure was made to calm and uplift one’s spirits. Made to move either clockwise or anti-clockwise, the spiral can either rotate upwards or downwards. Designer Tom Lawton says “There isn’t really a wrong or a right way. Steam rises, whirlwinds and smoke flow upwards — molten lava, waterfalls and whirlpools flow down”. Powered by magnets at the base (and with a ‘magnetic wand’ that helps initiate the rotation), the Uplift spins quietly, and for long lengths of time, thanks to its ‘solar engine’- a cleverly designed contact-less rotary drive system that has little to no inertia. The entire sculpture is encased in a glass dome, giving it a personality that feels almost precious and untouched, while making sure external elements like the wind don’t break the Uplift’s hypnotic spinning action!

Designer: Tom Lawton