Swirl Lamp Lighting

We wanted to see if we could use a food decorational element as a functional household object and specifically a lamp.

We wanted to make a lamp that would not only produce nice lighting but would also be charming to look at and would put a smile on someone’s face.

We would like to make different versions using different coloring techniques.

After getting inspired to use the meringue cookie as a form for the lamp hat of a pendant light we went ahead and photographed a meringue cookie we bought from a bakery. With the use of photogrammetrical software we created a 3d model of the cookie. This 3d model was only used to carefully study the meringue’s form. In the end, to achieve a more refined and symmetrical look, we connected a series of different curves, adjusting the proportions of the original cookie to acquire a clean symmetrical look. We modified the height-to-length ratio and altered the "belly" size of the cookie to ensure the desired design that we were looking for. The technical challenge was in balancing the organic aesthetic of the cookie with the precision needed for a lighting fixture, ensuring that it would be both elegant and structurally sound.

We’ve always had a strong appreciation for playful, vibrant hues, and we felt the Swirl Lamp would be a perfect canvas for a variety of color options. Regardless of the lamp’s exterior color, all the lamps’ interior dome is painted white. The white interior helps ensure the light reflected from the bulb remains neutral, preventing any color tinting since this makes for a more hard-to-use light while doing tasks like reading or dining, where natural, untinted light is essential. Beyond the functional aspect, we believe the combination of the bold exterior colors with the white interior adds a dynamic character to the lamp, giving it a versatility that allows it to fit seamlessly into different environments. The addition of two-tone variations, aside from the all-white version, enhances the lamp’s visual appeal, giving each piece a unique personality.

The Swirl Lamp Lighting is made from eco-resin Jesmonite, a versatile material, but it presented a unique challenge when creating shelled objects such as the Swirl Lamp. The primary difficulty with such designs is ensuring the mold can capture both the exterior and interior surfaces, especially when dealing with undercuts—features where one part of the design overhangs another. For objects without any undercuts you can use one mold that wraps around the object and get the desired thickness. However, in the case of the Swirl Lamp, since the design has an undercut, it becomes more complicated.To create the mold, we used a two-part molding technique. The outer mold, made from silicone, forms the external surface and is supported by a 3D-printed shell. The inner mold that’s used to render it’s internal surface and defines it’s thickness, is supported by a removable 3d-printed part, inserts into the lamp’s tip and this insert is designed to be rigid enough to maintain its shape during the casting process, yet is also flexible enough so that it can collapse to be inserted and removed. Finally the inner mold mounts on another 3d-printed part that in turn mounts onto the shell of the outer mold ensuring that the lamp’s thickness is maintained around the whole perimeter.