Looking a lot like Luxo after being backed over by a truck, the reflector on the Looksoflat desk lamp has an incredibly thin profile, less than an inch thick by the looks of it. The design is of course facilitated by the tiny profile of a couple of LED bulbs, but I can’t help but feel it’s going to be far less efficient at illuminating a work space. But should you drop a pen or a charging cable behind your desk, this should have no trouble squeezing back there to help you find it. Available soon… hopefully.
While I wish I could attribute this clever floating lamp to the work of an anti-gravity machine, or even the Jedi, I’m afraid the real secret isn’t really that secret. It’s probably just voodoo magic. That or a reinforced power cord, I don’t know. The design3000 website is all in German, which is like Greek to me… but written in German. For ~$265(€195), which is actually quite reasonable for a design-y item like this, the FlapFlap lamp doesn’t even come with a bulb which is totally lame. But I’m sure the stunned look on visitor’s faces when they see it totally makes up for the lack of included accessories.
Winner of a much deserved (IMHO) Red Dot Design award, the Rima lamp, created by Dreipuls, uses a strip of 65 white LEDs that can be selectively turned on or off by sliding around two sets of metal rings. Apparently optical sensors are used to determine the position of the rings, and only the LEDs falling in-between them are turned on. Kind of like a shower curtain… except that there’s no water… so nothing like a shower curtain. You catch my drift right?
Now there’s little to no evidence the Rima lamp actually exists, or at least in a working form without the assistance of Photoshop, but it’s still a great idea. Particularly for anyone burdened with a glossy screen MacBook who spends an unreasonable amount of time getting the angle just right to avoid annoying glares. It’s not just me right?
I’m not saying there’s anything specifically wrong with using one of those caged hanging work lights. They’ve obviously found themselves a niche in workshops and garages, and they’re a perfect example of form following function. But thanks to designer Marti Guixé, you can now use them to light your living room as well, even if you’re not going for that industrial look.
His Cau Table lamp is basically just a turned aluminum shade, available in white or brown. that features a hidden support for hanging a work light. Think of it as a design avatar that disguises an ugly duckling as a beautiful swan. Or, think of it as a way for Marti Guixé to make ~$850(€645) from two pieces of rolled aluminum.
They might look delicious, but these Marmeled Jelly lamps are not for eating, at least so says this warning on the JellyLamps website. When placed right side up the lamps are supposed to look like a jar of delicious preserves, but given the bright colors available they look more like a jar of hair gel. But either way, their true purpose is revealed when you flip them upside down which causes an LED light on the lid to switch on, casting a soft colored glow.
Each jar is powered by 2xAAA batteries which is good for about 50 hours of illumination, and they run ~$48 (€35) each from the JellyShop online store, with free shipping if you happen to live in Italy.
Capitalizing on the knitting trend that’s sweeping the nation this Needle Table Lamp, created by British design firm Vitamin, features a couple of adjustable aluminum needles that look like they were just pulled out of your mother’s craft basket. The power cord, with its fabric sheath, is wrapped around the point where the needles intersect adding to the illusion that they’re in the process of creating a scarf or a sweater, and the base features a couple of extra holes presumably for adjusting the angle of the LEDs. The lamp will be available in blue, orange, green and red, though when and for how much is unknown.
The touch activated lamp reaches its logical conclusion with this glowing snare drum that will only turn on when it hears the sound of the drum itself. So while it’s technically sound activated, you still have to touch the drum in order to turn it on. It’s smart enough to ignore claps and other loud sounds, but the video included below doesn’t show what would happen if you played a drum roll instead of just tapping it. And if you’re looking at this lamp and thinking to yourself: “hmmm… this looks suspiciously like an art piece and therefor probably costs a small fortune” you’d be absolutely right. $850 is what you’ll need to add this to your decor, not including shipping since they’re made to order in New Zealand.
At first glance this small, 10-inch LED lamp appears to be yet another crappy USB gadget designed more for novelty purposes than anything else. But it hides a secret that actually makes this lamp a somewhat useful multi-tasker. The shade pivots to reveal a fan that’s hidden beneath its flowery design, so not not only will the lamp provide a bit of extra light for those late-night WOW sessions, but it will also keep you cool in the heat of battle. Not surprisingly it’s available from Gadget4all.com for just $16, which is probably $15 more than it cost to make.
Looking for an aluminum machined lamp to match the MacBook sitting on your desk, but also don’t want to have to meddle with pesky on/off switches? Well you might want to drop HC Wang a line and see if they’ll sell or make you one of their Brick Lamps which can be turned on by simply standing it on any of its side facets. It doesn’t look like it throws a tremendous amount of light, but let’s face it, that’s not why you really want one anyways.
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