Anglepoise

Anglepoise is a British Company founded in the 1930s by car designer George Carawrdine. They are based near Bath and the first lamp designed was a 4 spring contraption.

It is such a refined industrial design that was firstly used in Doctors and Dentist surgeries and studio spaces. The first model was said to be too industrial for homes and so the 1227 (produced in 1935) was designed, it was a 3 spring mechanism and is the most iconic lamp in the company as well as one of the most iconic designs of the 20th Century. The structure is so cleverly designed and partly inspired by the action of an arm of a human. The springs and levers have a constant tension through them which holds the lamp up.

These lamps were said to be the perfect blackout lamp and so through World War 2 were very popular. Once the war was over several decades later, while hunting and diving for the Loch Ness monster, divers found a bomber plane with an anglepoise in it, once the bulb had been changed, it miraculously still worked.

Roald Dhal approached Anglepoise in 2005 about a model that was a lot bigger than the 1227 for his writing desk and this is the model that can be seen in the museum called Brooklands in Surrey. They celebrated 75 years by collaborating with British fashion designer Paul Smith. They released a bright colourful lamp in 2014.

As a brand they have not endeavour too far from what they know and have addressed this by saying that if they move away from their leading product they would lose clientele. The brand is so well known for this product that the brand almost becomes the product when it comes to sales.

They do however have a pendant lamp that is the same shape as the 1227 lamp's head - quite a bucket shape and rustic. The materials that the 1227 is made of are a mix of aluminium, chrome to finish with a cast iron base coated in steel. The strength of these materials compiled together means the lamp will last for a very long time.

Still to this day these 20th century designs are incredible. I absolutely love 20th Century Design and this lamp is such a clean shape with an intricate system. The colour of the lamps is muted and they are very understated.