Product news: London designer Samuel Wilkinson has launched a blown-glass lamp with a digitally created lozenge pattern for Danish brand &tradition (+ movie).
Combining traditional craft with digital technology, the BLOWN pendant lamp is Samuel Wilkinson's first lighting collaboration with &tradition.
Wilkinson used 3D computer software to model the structure of the metal mould used to imprint the diamond shapes onto the glass.
"The texture of the glass is rendered carefully in 3D CAD in order to control the inflation of each bubble precisely, achieving fine control of how the form would reflect the light at different angles," said Wilkinson.
The mould incorporates zig-zag teeth that fit into each other exactly and follow the diamond pattern, so the mould line is hidden within the indentations to leave a seamless finish.
Molten glass is inflated and shaped using traditional glass-blowing techniques and then inserted into the mould while still hot.
The mould imprints the pattern onto the glass, then once it cools the shade is sanded and cleaned.
The lampshade encloses the light source and refracts the lozenge pattern onto surrounding surfaces.
BLOWN comes in two versions: translucent with a silver lustre and sandblasted matte white. Both are completed by a powder-coated aluminium suspension fitting and a fabric chord.
Wilkinson also designed the energy efficient light bulb Plumen 001 in collaboration with London design brand Hulger.
BLOWN was exhibited at design fair designjunction during the London Design Festival last month. Other lighting designs that featured at the event include the Apollo lighting range by International and wicker lighting by Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune.
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Photography is by Sylvain Deleu.
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Blown is a mouth-blown glass pendant light with a variegated lozenged pattern imprinted on the surface which encloses the light source. It comes in two versions: translucent with a silver lustre and sandblasted matte white . Both versions are finished off with a powder-coated die-cast aluminium suspension and a fabric chord.
Wilkinson came to prominence for his involvement with the design of the avant-garde energy efficient light bulb Plumen 001, but this is his first light for &tradition. “It’s nice to be working with Samuel Wilkinson on a pendant light that marries traditional form with material innovation in this way,” says Brand Manager Martin Kornbek Hansen. Wilkinson has previously designed the Hoof tables for &tradition.
Like the Hoof tables, Blown is experimenting with a manufacturing process which combines industrial manufacture with a hand-crafted finish. While the making of Blown relies on technical 3dCAD (computer-aided design), the end product is mouth-blown by highly skilled craftsmen, connecting traditional craft with innovative technology.
Blown makes a statement as a standalone item, but works equally as well in clusters or in succession. The two versions cater to a range of interiors, with the sandblasted variant providing a subtle, sophisticated glow, while the translucent version transforms the space it inhabits with the intricate textures and patterning.