March 30, 2008 - The Ultimate Lamp

Thought you might be interested in seeing what the French are doing for the 120th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower.

It's seems there's been a competition to redesign the Eiffel Tower's public reception and access areas. Serero architect's won with this solution that will extend the top floor plate by grafting on a high performance carbon Kevlar structure. What do you think?

Spring is finally coming! In my first post I showed a photo of my neighborhood street back in February. Here's what it looks like today. We're all amazed at how wide the streets and sidewalks actually are. We've had snow on the ground since December 1st when we got hit hard by snow and ice. That same snow is at the bottom of all these piles, almost 4 months later and over 100 inches later.

March 00, 2008 - My birthday

Row Row Row your boat (your boat, not someone else's)

Gently down the stream (gently, down stream, not against it)

Merrily Merrily Merrily (be happy, enjoy it)

Life is but a dream (I'm beginning to get this)

It's my birthday and I was thinking over the last year. One of my favorite times was taking a trip to Washington Island in Wisconsin with some good friends. It was a magical trip. This is a "self portrait" that I took on Schoolhouse Beach. An amazing beach of smooth white stones. I got lost in the ever changing patterns of the water ripples on the stones. It was a wonderful place just to sit and dream. Today I'm looking forward to spending time with friends. Have a great day.

March 28, 2008 - A Custom Lamp

A friend of mine found an old lamp base, and quite a funky one at that, and asked me to make a custom shade for it. Actually it took some thought. This needed a more traditional shade construction. It needed a wire frame to make it work. I'd played a bit with this in the past, like once, but then I was never one to go the traditional route, and it seemed even more time consuming than the direction I had already gone. But here it was, a fabulous base and the opportunity to play. It took awhile but this is what I came up with.

I didn't want to do the traditional round shade so I ended up using the bullet shaped Bo shade and added a wire framework on the top and bottom. I had to wire in two round wire circles that I had gotten from a lamp part supplier. This was the tricky part and I wouldn't recommend the way I did it, but it worked. At any rate, if you find a funky base out there, maybe I can make a new lamp out it. Cheryl loved it by the way. 

February 20, 2008 - A quick studio tour

-14 degrees below zero tonight! One more degree lower and we break yet another record. These are records I have no desire to achieve. And you can't forget the total lunar eclipse tonight. The moon won't be completely blacked out but will have a red/orange color. It will reach it's peak around 9:01 pm CST.

Thought I'd give a short tour of my basement studio in my Madison bungalow. It's a very long room and 10 feet wide by almost 40 feet long. Actually the space is great for my one man shop. The top photo is my desk and display area. Once a year I open my studio for the Madison Open Studio Tour. Around 200 artists open their studios to the public. I try to display as many lamps as I have on hand.

The bottom photo is the opposite end of the room where I have my work table and parts storage. I also have an enclosed back porch which I use for my small wood shop. 

Stay warm. m.

February 19, 2008 - Winter continues

Welcome to my brand new blog. I thought I'd play a bit and see what it takes to put a blog online. It's way too easy. But being a designer I'm really going to have to find a way to have a little more fun with the layout. It's just too boring. 

And yes, it's winter here in Madison. One of the worst in years. We're approaching 90 inches. Last year we got about 28 if that gives you a clue as to how crazy this winter has been. We get a storm about once or twice a week. And the last once started with a couple inches of rain. The trees are coated with ice and in the sunlight simply sparkle. Luckily it wasn't enough to bring down a ton of branches. At this writing the temp is a big 6. Tonight it will get to -7. Huge icicles have formed on everyone's homes making me wonder if the weight will bring gutters to the ground. We've been battling ice damns all winter, since December 1 in fact, when the first storm hit without mercy. It also started as an ice storm and there's a layer underneath from that first storm and it's like rock. If you didn't get all your walks and driveways cleared before it froze it's just not going to happen. It is beautiful but it also feels like you're living with a lion at your door. With -45 degree wind chills, icy roads that salt can't melt, icicles and ice damns causing water to collect in your walls and ceilings, and the furnace running day and night it feels like it could all go to hell pretty easily. When I go to bed at night I definitely give a little thanks for a warm and cozy refuge from the elements.

I have no idea where this blog will lead but I'm hoping it will be a creative journal, displaying ideas of all sorts and encompassing all my passions: design, lighting, architecture, nature, music, movies, friends and family, and whatever else comes to mind. Perhaps it will turn into something truly unique. 

Chow. m.