Design studio Degross focuses on efficiency, maximising the use of their raw materials and minimising waste. So when they found a stash of glass bottles discarded behind their studio, their creative minds started ticking…
It wasn’t long before they’d come up with a multitude of ways to breathe new life into the bottles and save them from landfill.
A plant pot with its own light source, made from two parts of the same bottle, and an Anglepoise inspired lamp, using the top section, were just two of their ideas.
I saw both products at designersblock, part of London Design Festival 2012, but it was only recently, at Interiors UK last week, that I got a real insight into how they’d been made.
The first step is to carefully cut the tops off the bottles – keeping both parts intact.
Next the sharp edges are sanded down.
Degross experimented with spaying the bottles – these images are of their very first tests.
The inside of the top section of the bottles are sprayed with a reflective paint, to ensure the light generated by the bulb is reflected out of the shade as efficiently as possible.
When it came to materials for the other elements, Degross was keen to continue in the salvaged theme, and managed to source wood offcuts as the second raw material to be used.
Precision CNC cutting transforms those odds and sods of wood into something of beauty.
Constituent parts created, the products are then assembled, using bright cabling to add a touch of colour.
Degross have very kindly allowed me to share this fabulous short film which shows the process in more detail…
And the result? A range of rather fabulous products, that have come a long way from their humble origins.
Terralux (top), Lacunar (above), Ollamp (below)…
…and launched just last week at Interiors UK… Funalux.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- here’s one I made earlier :: the sofa and chair company
- here’s one I made earlier :: extl lights
- here’s one I made earlier :: x3 at superbrands london
- here’s one I made earlier :: elasticated chair
