Five Floor Lamps at the London Design Festival 2008
Ango: Ebony Sky
Angus Hutcheson's Bankok-based studio produces beautifully minimal lighting designs inspired by natural forms. (Pictured at right.) We loved this arching lamp which uses silk cocoons for the shade and stainless steel for the base structure.
Anna McConnell: Non-Standard Lamp
There was quite a bit of anthropomorphic design going on at the festival including these characterful articulated lamps that we adored by recent design graduate Anna McConnell. (Above right.) Designed for her final degree project, they're all one-of-a-kind featuring joints custom-designed for each reclaimed lamp stand.
Sander Bokkinga: Hosepipe Floor Lamp
Surely the boldest stand at the Tent London show was Bok, the design label by Dutchman Sander Bokkinga. (Far left.) His hosepipe furniture turned heads with the eye-catching colors and archetypal — but surprising — forms. Sander says that water can still run through the hose even when it's being used as a lamp. Sounds kinda electrifying!
SKK: Wooden Standing Lamp
This enormous lamp caught our attention on entering Tent London. (At left.) We like its simple wooden form and elastic cords, reminding us of an overgrown child's toy. The lamp was designed by SKK in the 1990s but the light board has now been updated with the latest LED technology to give it a contemporary energy-saving edge.
Tomás Alonso: Mr Light
Possibly our favorite find of the festival was OKAY Studio's show at the Aram Gallery. Nine design graduates from the Royal College of Art share a studio space in London and this, their first group show, was entitled "Under the Same Roof." Tomás Alonso's anthropomorphic lamps, using new LED T8 tube light bulbs, were one of the many highlights in this show.
Named Mr.1, Mr.2 and Mr.3, the lamps take advantage of the reduced number of components that the bulbs require and use it as inspiration, exploring "the formal continuity between the bulb and the fixture while playing with the way the materials come together to produce a series of unexpected characters."
