... this blogger gave to thee...
... three midnight magnets...
... two tricks and treats...
....a tale of lovely lore.There are always some posts in the 12 days that I have no clue what I'm going to write about until the day I come to write them. This has happened with Day 3 & 4, and so I decided to take inspiration from something I have apparently been obsessively collection without realising over the years... lights.
Most of them are battery operated or rechargeable, but as I've been writing this post, I keep remembering ones I've forgotten, and in my little room, turns out I have about twenty three random little lights, including a moon; a cloud; a dumpling; a narwhal, and "beauty" lights round my mirror which, when I switch on for the first time, made me never want to look in a mirror again...
... they're terrifying but bloody brilliant for eyebrow plucking.
In the end, I just love fairy lights - something that at this time of year I really enjoy - they give a really lovely warm light, which is bright enough but not too bright and I would have the Christmas lights up all year if I thought I'd get away with it.
The latest to come live in amongst my little collection however is unique because it's magnetic, so it can be used as a wall light or a torch, and that got me here, to a post about how magnets are used in three different pieces of lighting design.
In order to switch on the ring of LED lights which line the inner perimeter of these wooden oval lights, you bring the lower ball up to the suspended one, allowing the two tethered magnetic balls to perpetually try their hardest to touch but instead just levitate within touching distance. They're trying so hard in fact that the lower ball pulls up on internal switch, turns on the light and keeps it from turning off until the user chooses too turn it off.
It's the executive toy of lights and reminds me of those Newton's Cradle toys you knew you shouldn't play with on your grandparents (in my case) shelves, but couldn't resist.
It's a sleek, elegant and playful piece of design which uses the innate magnetic attraction of the balls to create not only a physical reaction, of a light being turned on, but a balance where the magnets never touch, but they are constantly interacting with each other.
Unfortunately like with a lot of designs, the Heng Balance Lamp has fallen foul of unscrupulous companies producing identical lights, at much lower prices. This got to the point where in 2019 Zawen wrote two open letters on Behance, explaining the pain this had caused him and the effort he's made to try and stop copycats, unfortunately to little to no avail, the letters are entitled Copy, let the designer die and I prepare Tombstone for Heng Lamp:
"This is my final cry to the 'dark forest' (the dilemma where I am):
Heng lamp must be destroyed by myself if it has to.
If I lose, I will accept it and take it as the foundation for followers to fight for their rights.
I have prepared the tombstone.
Carved with five characters:
I am your father!"
Essential, the designers was saying, I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it.
Link || Heng Balance Lamp by Zan Design || Behance I || Behance II || Kickstarter || YouTube || Firebox || DesignNest
Link || The Heng Balance Lamp [...] by Christopher Jobson via Colossal
Link || The Interesting Illumination Interaction by Sarang Sheth via Yanko Design
Link || A Simple Wooden Lamp [...] by Margaret Rhodes via WIRED
Design two is the Smart Baton Light by Warwickshire based company Gingko Design, run by Paul and Natalie Sun.
The pair set out to create simple, design-led and functional products, and, much like the light which has just been added to my collection, the Smart Baton uses magnets give multiple usages to the light. By the application of a magnet this frosted acrylic glass and white ash (or American walnut) design goes from wall light, to table lamp and into what is essentially a torch. Though my little sister's instant reaction was "oooh, tiny lightsabre"...
This is such a lovely and simple design with multipurpose thanks to a magnet and as an added feature, it also has a light sensor, meaning no need to have a nightlight in your hall all night, so you don't fall over your cat.
Now, I don't know if you've ever lived with a black, dark furred or tuxedo cat, or just one that just likes to hang out and lounge directly outside of doors, or in the middle of the hall in the dead of night, but if you do, you know my pain. The buggers are invisible in the dark and my boy, Charlie, loves to lie around in just the wrong place in the middle of the night, which means I either have to put on and off every single light, in every single room as I work my way through the house in the dark, or I have to carry around a torch/lantern to avoid falling over or stepping on the little bugger. This is why I love designs like this, it's simple and practical and still really aesthetically pleasing.
Which is why, inevitably, it's another design that I have found duplicated online in multiple places.
It's way too easy to buy a cheap knock off and not support the original creator, which is sad because we should be supporting small makers. But a lot of people will take the cheaper option, because they don't appreciate the time and effort it takes to design and make something, and that "it cost that much 'cause it takes me fucking hours..."
Thank you TikTok for keeping that in my head all year, and for it being so fucking true.
Link || Smart Baton by Gingko Design || Website || Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || YouTube || Vimeo || Not On The High Street || Design Milk
Link || These Minimilast Baton-Shaped Lamps [...] by Sarang Sheth via Yanko Design
This third and final design somewhat combines the way the two previous use magnets, by both using it as a connection both physically and electrically, but the designers have done that in their own unique manner.
Created by Italian architects Alessandro Mattei and Caterina Naglieri for their company Plato Design, the D-TWELVE Lamp is a modular lighting system which allows you to add additional lights to your base unit, creating your own geometric design.
Based on a modular system of hollow wooden or concrete dodecahedrons, each has three sides studded with neodymium magnets, which allows the individual modules to connect to each other and the current pass from one to the next, expanding the size of your lamp. You can connect up to seven modules together, but only one needs to be connected to a power supply, however because of that radial arrangement of the magnets it means you can have each of your lights on a different orientation, allowing for the lamp to become an adaptable and sculptural piece of design.
Whether it's being used as a pendant light, wall light or desk light, there's something really satisfying about versatility of these modular pieces and the way they connect to one another, giving the owner the ability to personalise their lighting to their needs.
And in the end, if the lighting doesn't work for you and your space, is it worth having?
Link || D-TWELVE Lamp by Plato Design via Retail Design Blog
Link || This Lighting System Uses Magnets [...] via Contemporist
Lighting is integral to your living space, you need light to make a room functional as well beautiful, but the right lighting is also important. The way a room is lit can effect productivity and mood, it can help you with perceived temperature through colour and help you relax, it can prevent your eyes from straining and giving you headaches, and it can even make you happy just thanks to the novelty or beauty of the light itself. Lighting changes the way your space feels, and why shouldn't your lighting also be beautiful or even ridiculous with its functionality?
Oh, and I found another light. There's a torch at my window, so I can check the cat isn't trying to bring guests back before I let him in in the dead of night. So, with that particularly unattractive but functional light added to the tally, that brings the total to twenty four supplementary lights in my room.
It's not a problem, it's mood lighting.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Part four later...
Listening: It Costs that Much - Woah Dude & Laura Jane Barnes
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