Part 5 Personal Project Stage 5b

Having decided that light and felt are a good combination I've been looking at how other people use it.  I found several ideas and they all take a different approach.

The first one called Mio and is made of two wool felt capsules with the darker top reflecting light towards the bottom to diffuse it.  It is made by a company called City of Brotherly Love. Each lamp is 12" high and 8" in diameter and are about $75 each.

Mio by City of Brotherly Love
http://purecontemporary.blogs.com/behind_the_curtains/lighting/page/14/

I found these lovely lights on a site called I Felt Like It, a South African design house. The lampshades are handmade using karakul wool (karukul sheep are a ancient and hardy Asian breed). They are sculptural and organic in shape and no two are ever the same.  They range from 150mm  to 580mm diameter.

Karakul wool lampshades
http://www.i-feltlikeit.com/index.html

Karakul wool lampshades
http://www.i-feltlikeit.com/index.html

Next I found the Tokonoma range of lights by Aqua Creations is made of merino wool and silk with the supporting structure made of wood.  They are designed by Albi Serfaty and Eitan Ben Tovim.  The four different finishes for the lights represent  the four seasons; Haru for Spring, Natsu for Summer, Aki for Autumn and Fuyu for winter.   

The Tokonoma range by Aqua Creations
http://aquagallery.com/category/column-1/lighting/collection/tokonoma/

Much more like what I have in mind is the Hobo bag and light.  The website tell me that "the bag comes to life with an energy efficient LED light source glowing through its delicate pattern of translucent fibres".

Hobo bags
http://retaildesignblog.net/2011/08/12/hobo-lantern-bag-by-molo-design/

Hobo bag showing the size
http://retaildesignblog.net/2011/08/12/hobo-lantern-bag-by-molo-design/

Whilst I am not actually making a lampshade this research is certainly food for thought.