With the on-off switch doubling as a dimmer control for the new-tech halogen globe, this limited edition shelf light is almost as versatile as it is cute. The work of designer Andreas Martin-Lof, the mix of materials is lovely. And with each component part lovingly sourced from the workshops of local Swedish suppliers, the A.M.L Clamp is a piece of home decor with a tail at least as long as its brilliant blue fabric flex.
Reissues of the design classics from the last half century or so are thicker on the ground than usual at the moment, with manufacturers apparently only too happy to indulge the popular taste for all things vintage. A safe bet in uncertain economic times? Maybe. But hey, anything that gives oxygen to the notion that design can, and should, get better with age is surely nothing to complain about.
Two of my personal fancies are lights: 1. the ingenious Cobra lamp by Elio Martinelli – a mere 300 have been re-issued by Martinelli Luce this year in celebration of its fortieth year. And 2. the 70′s pendant Cynthia by Mario Marenco for Artemide. As Italian daily Corriere della Sera notes, a lamp capable of recreating the atmosphere of its times.
