Vicky Sanderson Here’s a quick fun thing if you’re looking to goof around online for few minutes. Let’s consider two examples of classic lamps reimagined by Montreal-based Globe Electric, which makes affordable lighting fixtures, cords, bulbs, smart lighting, outdoor fixtures, and sensors/door cameras. At no extra cost. I’ll throw in a couple of pics of a timeless lighting beauty from 20th century design.
The squat, curved lamps from Globe on the left, make me think of the Panthella lamp, which Verner Panton (1926-1998) developed for Louis Poulsen in 1971. The pendant at right shows Panton’s affection for and mastery of the simple sphere form, and his exuberant use of colour and gloss. It’s just one of several classic lamps and other decor elements designed by Panton.
The original had a much daintier stem, with a half-sphere shade and base perfectly scaled and balanced to diffuse light around the room. Globe’s mini table version (designed by Novogratz) references classic lamps, but with a more muscular lines. Still, it makes both a good accent source -and from behind and above on a shelf-a serviceable reading lamp. I used a sample I was sent with great success for a reading nook for the Man of the House. I appreciate the five-foot cord.
The lamp on the right (from Globe) is the direct descendent of a range of classic lamps designed by Arne Jacobsen for Louis Poulsen (shown on left). It was re-issued as a table lamp on the 60th anniversary of the opening of the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, for which Jacobsen designed every element. Available from Design Within Reach. The one on the right is an affordable sconce from Globe.
Beyond these two riffs on classic lamps Globe has an extremely wide range of looks from every era.
Here’s the bonus stuff, friends. The Septima pendant (it’s named for its seven layered glass shades) shown below was designed by Poul Henningsen, another Poulsen alumni. When a smaller original was first exhibited in 1928, the public found its refined modernity so appealing they burst into applause. I applaud that impulse. There was a metal version designed, but it never made it into production. Boo!
