When I look at all those great upcycle design ideas I notice that you can divide de designs into two main groups. Designs that are made from an original object that has nothing to do with the finished product and designs where the original object is turned into a different version of that object. Like taking a lightbulb and turning it into a different light.
A company that created fantastic examples of such designs is Castor with their ‘Tube Light‘ and ‘Invisible Chandelier‘. And today I came across another great upcycle lighting design, the ‘Relight my fire!’ by Belgium designer Gelmer Van Dorpe, gelmervandorpe | Design & Engineering, located in Merksem | Belgium.
According to Van Dorpe: “As a designer, I feel obliged to any new product in question, because you are partly responsible for the waste of the future. Is this product really necessary? Can it be more simple? Can we use sustainable materials or production? …”
Photos © Gelmer Van Dorpe
This light fixture is designed according to the “Cradle to cradle” principle, where waste is used as a source for a new product. This way the life of the material is extended and the environmental impact is reduced. “In this case, a set of faulty tubes is the inspiration and I used two vinyl singles them to connect. Finally I recuperated the power cables of a cable reel. Only the 2 bulbs and sockets are new.”
I never thought that you could make such intriguing design with the use of light tubes. And the combination with the vinyl singles is pure fun.
Design by gelmervandorpe
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Why not use fly back transformer or MOT to light the fluorescent tube lights even if they don’t work in conventional fixture and ballast.