Pendulum is a reading and ambient table lamp. Counterweight keeps the lampshade in perfect balance in any position. This way the lampshade can be rotated as far as +90° to -90° and around its vertical axis by >360°.
LED light source stays hidden from the eye, no matter the lamp's position: the light is indirectly scattered via the lampshade.
Repairing Pendulum is easy and affordable. Using simple tools and with all the spare parts available in our store. Longevity guaranteed!
Local
Slovenia
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Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
ERDF : European Regional Development Fund
JAVNI RAZPIS ZA IZBOR OPERACIJ »Spodbujanje kreativnih kulturnih industrij - Center za
kreativnost 2020 - 2021« (JR CzK 2020- 2021)
No
Yes
2022-12-30
As an individual
First name: Matej Last name: Štefanac Gender: Male Nationality: Slovenia Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Krtince Town: Podplat Postal code: 3241 Country: Slovenia Direct Tel:+386 31 344 230 E-mail:matej.stefanac@gmail.com Website:http://matejstefanac.com
Pendulum is a reading and ambient table lamp. Counterweight keeps the lampshade in perfect balance in any position. This way the lampshade can be rotated as far as +90° to -90° and around its vertical axis by >360°.
NO GLARE TECHNOLOGY
LED light source stays hidden from the eye, no matter the lamp's position. The light is indirectly scattered via the lampshade which dramatically reduces the glare and makes it easy on the eyes.
LONGEVITY
Extra attention was put to ease of lamp assembly and disassembly. This may seem like a very mundane feature, but many products nowadays have their parts glued and assembled in a way that doesn’t allow effective repairing. I wanted to change that and make repairing effective once again.
Repairing pendulum is easy and affordable. Using simple tools and with all the spare parts available in our store. Longevity guaranteed!
L/W/H: 24 / 24 / 34 CM
MATERIALS: Aluminum
FINISH: black powder coating
LIGHT SOURCE: Led 8W / CRI90 / 2700K (warm white)
CE Certified
LIGHTING DESIGN
LONGEVITY = REPAIRABILITY + CUSTOMIZABILITY
SPARE PARTS AVAILABILITY
NO PLASTICS
NO GLUE DESIGN
KEY SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES:
1. NO PLASTICS
One of the main objectives was to minimize plastic use and use aluminum instead.
This was done by carefully choosing alternative materials and production methods to achieve comparative tactile & aesthetic qualities.
However, a few parts still needed plastic because of safety standards and regulations (ON/OFF switch, cable plug, and cable gland).
I’ve applied the same NO PLASTIC principles to the packaging design. Instead of plastic bags, or bubble wrap, I used plain cardboard and soft paper to protect the most delicate components.
2. LONGEVITY = REPAIRABILITY + CUSTOMIZABILITY
I strongly believe the longevity of products is one of the most important aspects of sustainability. We have to use less but better.
Here are a few key points that make Pendulum lamp a product with a long lifespan:
A) High-Quality design, engineering, and production, using only quality materials.
B) Pendulum lamp can be easily disassembled when a part is broken. Using widely available tools, fixing Pendulum lamps is easy.
C) All spare parts will be available in my web store at reasonable prices.
D) Color customization allows the user to continuously adapt the lamp to its surroundings without going out-of-date.
E) Easy disassembly at the end of the life cycle.
To further improve repairability, video tutorials will be shot, explaining how certain parts of a Pendulum lamp can be replaced without any prior technical knowledge.
3. NO GLUE DESIGN
Extra attention was put into designing a product that doesn’t use glue. Only fasteners and custom-made parts were used to keep the parts assembled. A very difficult objective to achieve that I’m very proud of!
4. LED
For the light source, I’ve chosen LED. A custom-developed LED module was developed by a Slovenian company that ensures quality, long lifespan, and low energy consumption.
I believe a product needs to meet many criteria in order for people to feel a connection to it. It has to be relatable in visual, tactile, emotional, and usability sense.
I wanted the Pendulum lamp to be related to all people, no matter their gender, nationality, or age. Everybody needs light in their life.
I was lucky enough to receive many positive feedbacks from people who have pre-ordered the Pendulum lamp on my website. Sharing with me their visual associations, Pendulum lamp invoked in them. Many of them were referring to human skin softness, pregnant belly, belly button, and breasts, … I’m happy people are able to connect to the design in such a warm and human way.
AESTHETIC OBJECTIVES: Timeless, minimal and modern design.
FUNCTION OBJECTIVES: Reading lamp and ambient lamp at the same time, very adjustable, very tactile, flawless, and effortless moving.
VERY INNOVATIVE WAY OF ADJUSTING THE LAMP:
Counterweight keeps the lampshade in perfect balance in any position. This way the lampshade can be rotated as far as +90° to -90° and around its vertical axis by 340°.
DUAL FUNCTION
Thanks to the adjusting mechanism, a Pendulum lamp can function both as a reading lamp and as an ambient lamp at the same time. When pointing down it’s ready for reading, but when pointing toward the room it becomes ambient.
NO GLARE TECHNOLOGY:
The LED light source stays hidden from the eye, no matter the lamp's position. The light is indirectly scattered via the lampshade which dramatically reduces the glare and makes it easy on the eyes.
Pendulum lamp is designed to serve all people, no matter their gender, nationality, or age. Everybody needs light in their life.
In terms of inclusiveness, the main concern was the affordability of the product. I wanted to make sure I can offer the Pendulum lamp at a competitive price compared to similar products on the market.
I’m well aware the majority of people wouldn’t pay extra just because my product is more sustainable so I’ve realized I need to adjust my business plan accordingly. Designing sustainable products means investing more money in a product development phase, but doing that early is something that could eventually increase sales in the long run, while still keeping competitive prices.
“Light rental” is another business model addition I’m planning to integrate. As the name suggests people will be able to rent the lamp for a certain time period, after which they will return the lamp to me. They would only need to pay for the electricity and monthly subscription, all other expenses would be covered by me. This would even extend the lifespan of the Pendulum lamp, as well give an alternative financing option to the user.
I strongly believe we all need to make that risk for a brighter future. Every sector, including lighting, needs a lighthouse to show the right path.
Citizens are benefiting from Pendulum project by learning how sustainable design can have a positive impact on their life, how they can benefit from circular economy, why should they keep objects al long as possible, why repairing is good for the society.
Many people had the chance to see Pendulum lamp in person on exhibitions, award ceremonies and media coverages, and get a glimpse on how all design could look like in the future.
It’s very important to educate people on these topics, because at the end of the day people themselves decide what will the future look like.
As did Pendulum shape the opinions of general public, so did the general public influence the development of the lamp. By sharing their views, opinions and feedbacks I got a better idea on what they actually needed and wanted.
Early inclusion of the general public in the development of the Pendulum lamp was very important for me. I decided I will start exhibiting the lamp already as a prototype and start collecting people's feedback on some key aspects: design, function, and perceived value of sustainability solutions. Their response helped me form a further understanding of their needs and expectations.
I’ve decided taking part in exhibitions, national and international, would put me in touch with people, whose opinions I wanted to integrate into the product. These are exhibitions I was part of since the beginning of Pendulum lamp development:
- Salone Del Mobile, Milano, Italy, 2022 (*);
- Zagreb Design Week, Zagreb, Croatia, 2022;
- Design Without Borders, Budapest, Hungary, 2022;
- Created in Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2022.
- Month Of Design, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2022.
(*) In collaboration with the Slovenian museum for architecture and design (MAO) and their Center for Creativity (CZK) Pendulum lamp was exhibited at the biggest furniture fair Salone Del Mobile in Milano, in 2022.
Manufacturers of Pendulum lamp parts are very important stakeholders in my project. I have 6 different manufacturers producing custom parts needed for my Pendulum lamp;
1. laser cut circular stands (Slovenia)
2. CNC turned and milled aluminum parts (Slovenia);
3. metal spinned reflector (Italy);
4. LED module (Slovenia);
5. powder coating (Slovenia);
6. custom cardboard packaging (Croatia).
Without them Pendulum lamp wouldn't exist in a physical form. All of them are based in the EU, majority of them in Slovenia.
They produce the parts, I assemble them, package and ship them.
Design & development of the Pendulum lamp consisted of many different fields/disciplines, which were organized in a horizontal hierarchy. Meaning every field played a major role in decision-making simultaneously. P.e. sustainability issues could affect changes in the design part, if necessary. That couldn’t happen in a vertical hierarchy of disciplines, where design was already finished when sustainability was getting addressed.
Short description of the disciplines involved in Pendulum lamp development:
1. Design disciplines: research and ideation phase, prototyping
2. Sustainability disciplines: materials and processes research, life cycle research, packaging research
3. Development disciplines: CAD and CAM development
4. Production disciplines: CNC turning, CNC milling, Laser cutting, powder coating, packaging.
5. Electronics development: The LED module is developed from the ground up, power supply and switch are sourced
6. Legal disciplines: standards and regulative research
Pendulum lamp was exhibited in these national and international exhibitions:
- Salone Del Mobile, Milano, Italy, 2022;
- Zagreb Design Week, Zagreb, Croatia, 2022;
- Design Without Borders, Budapest, Hungary, 2022;
- Created in Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2022.
- Month Of Design, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2022.
Pendulum lamp received these national and international recognitions and awards:
- 10 Highlights of Milano Design Week in Tortona District by DesignWanted;
- 1. st. place at Zagreb Design Week (category: Product design);
- Slovenian National award Month Of Design (Mesec Oblikovanja);
- MADE IN SLOVENIA, Selection of Design Excellence;
Pendulum lamp was published in more than 30 national and international publications.
Pendulum unique movement offers dual function: reading and ambient, which no other lamp on the market does.
With its sustainable approach lays the foundation for all other similar product design projects in many different fields.
Most existing lamps on the market have serious sustainable issues. Just to name a few:
1. MAINSTREAM SOLUTIONS: LED modules are usually glued to the casing, which makes repairing almost impossible and in case of repairing the whole lamp needs to be shipped to the original manufacturer where LED can be actually replaced. I believe repairing locally makes a lot more sense because it’s more economical, faster, easier and more people will actually do it.
MY SOLUTION: LED module is NOT glued to the casing, but screwed. At any time screws can be removed and the LED module replaced with a new one. This can be done locally or even at home, with widely available tools.
2. MAINSTREAM SOLUTIONS: Replacement parts for lighting products are very rarely available, This leads to lower lifespan of the product.
MY SOLUTION: All Pendulum parts will be available as spare parts, available at our web store. Each and every part. At reasonable prices that would still allow economical repairs. This drastically extends the lifespan of a product.
3. MAINSTREAM SOLUTIONS: A lot of parts are made in plastic, including parts of packaging. Thus lowering short-term production costs.
MY SOLUTION: Pendulum lamp is not using plastic. The only exceptions to that are parts where safety standards and regulations demand the use of plastic (because of safety standards and regulations (switch, cable plug, and cable gland).
Design & development of the Pendulum lamp consisted of many different fields, which were organized in a horizontal hierarchy. Meaning every field played a major role in decision-making simultaneously. P.e. sustainability issues could affect changes in the design part, if necessary. That couldn’t happen in a vertical hierarchy of disciplines, where design was already finished when sustainability was getting addressed.
1. Dismantable design: where all components, sub-assemblies and assemblies are designed so that they can be removed, repaired, assembled, and disassembled many times.
Pendulum lamp is designed in such a way.
2. Horizontal disciplines hierarchy I used in the development of Pendulum lamp could and should be used in many other projects involving the development of physical products. Where sustainability becomes an equally decisive factor as design, development, production or legal.
3. Possibility of “Rental” is also an important factor that largely contributes to the sustainability level of a product. The rental industry by definition operates in a circular business model. It fulfills all of the circular economy principles and, by doing so, minimizes the negative environmental impact.
Pendulum business model incorporates “rental” as an alternative to the classical ownership business model.
The everyday objects’ average lifespan is critically short, and this is something we should all be worried about. Keeping objects/products in the loop for longer will play a major role in the future when resource scarcity will occur.
Pendulum lamp addresses the issue by using Design as the main tool in extending the life of a product, offering an easy-to-repair product with no or very few tools. Backed up by a business model that offers all components at very reasonable prices and encourages the user to self-repair locally.
