Lightexture’s lamps are beautiful and energy efficient.
Sustainable designers interested in the field of light fixtures often focus on making the lamp base out of recycled or repurposed materials, and don’t necessarily think about energy efficient light. We’ve seen lamps made out of industrial pipes and chandeliers made out of ice cream spoons, but when thinking of mood lighting it is sometimes hard to think of compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). Emitting a notoriously harsh white light when they first came out, CFLs have a bad reputation that is slowly being restored as their glow comes closer to the yellow warmth associated with (non energy efficient) incandescent bulbs. Israeli design duo Yael Erel and Avner Ben Natan of Lightexture are helping the CFLs’ popularity by creating beautiful lamps in which they shine.
Yael and Avner, of Lightexture
Coming from two different fields – Yael is an architect while Avner is a lighting designer – these designers wish “to explore light through the construction of unique designer lamps which adjust through time, and draw light and texture in space.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVxl-Lm8tTA[/youtube]
Creating textured light that is more noticeable than an invisible and pervasive light, Lightexture’s lamps and light fixtures are made from various ready-made objects (such as strainers and cheese graters), lighting components and constructed elements.
The team’s Clayight and Earthlight series, which they developed through collaboration with ceramic artist Sharan Elran, focuses on sustainable light that is eco-friendly and atmospheric. The materials used to create these lamps are natural, such as in the ceramic Totem lamp at the top of this post or the rice paper used in the Earthlight Seedlamp above.
These lamps are also intended to be fitted with CFLs, which can surprisingly create this beautiful yellow glow due to the design of the lamp itself.
“One of our goals,” write the Lightexture duo, “is to create energy efficient fixtures, while maintaining our focus on their atmospheric and spatial performance.”
Read more about sustainable lamp designs:
Hasadna Design Workshop Does Upcycled Chandeliers With an Ice Cream Party
Tel Aviv Port’s “Pop-Up Design Store” Features Many Upcycling Designers
Cygalle Shapiro Creates LED Lamp Powered Organically… By Tomatoes
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
I used to make my own lamps like these from ceramic clay and besides being earthy in look and feel there isn’t much that’s efficient about these lights. The clay obstructs most of the light, creating an ambiance more than anything else. It’s an expensive night light basically. Gorgeous though.
Thank you for this story! Its lovely.
The Earthlight Seedlamp which is in the lower picture is actually made of porcelain and not rice paper as written.