DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2009
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What Unbeige is calling "Lamp Fight! Lamp Fight!," designers Chris Kabel and Constantin Wortmann are going at it over the spiral-bulb-thingy lamp. We love the "Chinatown Defense" (see below), and plan on seeing that as the next meme to take over the spot soon to be vacated by Snakes on a Plane. Here's some snippets:
Kabel:
I recently visited your website and came on the item on next's dna module lamp. It bears a striking resemblance to my 1totree lamp dating from 2002 that was exhibited and published worldwide. This is not a coincidence.
A few years ago I was approached by a German lighting company about producing it. Unfortunately production costs were too high so it was blown off. But it turns out that an employee of this lighting company started working for next sometime after. Apparently he took the sketches and proposed it to his new boss. Off course his boss was delighted with the idea and decided to produce it. This is not the way to go obviously.
Therefore I am are preparing a legal suit against this company.
Wortmann:
...To tell you the history of OUR dna: We have been to chinatown in manhattan in may 05 and found a double-socket for lamps. (see attached image: doublesocket.jpg >> by the way: designed in 1920...). This double socket was the "ignition" for the function and the lamp OBY, we did in the year 2000 for HABITAT, was our goal for the design language. After a while of working on it we realized, that it won't work with regular sockets so we invented a totally new "snap-on" system for this modular lamp.
Again: we didn't copy your design: It is a pure coincidence, that we did similar projects.
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Comments
um...i hate to say this, but artist Mathieu Mercier made a lamp out of y-sockets in 1999...see it here: http://flickr.com/photos/nearnearfuture/71796831/ he is represented by Jack Hanley in SF and Spencer Brownstone in NY...and the lamp has been exhibited since 1999...so these designers need to get over themselves...geez!
Sometimes ideas are just in the air (personal opinion).