The New Life of Ben Swildens' Lamp 10445
BY LÉA OUTIER
Recently founded, the company Source Édition brings designs back to life by reissuing them in collaboration with the original creators or their successors. This is the case with this model by the Dutch designer, which is almost impossible to find on the vintage market.
Emerging in the 19th century alongside the electric bulb, the opaline glass globe, with its clean round shape and diffused light, has endured through the ages. In 1970, Ben Swildens, a Dutch designer and architect based in France (known for his Œuf lamp and his work at Peugeot's headquarters), created his version: a sphere intersected at its center by bent metal lines, pierced with two discreet mounting holes, transforming it into a wall lamp.
Originally produced by the lighting company Verre Lumière, Lamp 10445, almost impossible to find on the vintage market, has been given a new life by Source Édition, the recently established company founded by Joséphine Bursacchi and her mother, Isabelle de Ponfilly. "With the agreement of Ben Swildens' daughter and wife, we replaced the opaline glass with frosted blown glass, which is more environmentally friendly, and the steel base with aluminum, which is lighter," they explain.
Initially launched with three base finishes (brushed aluminum, white, black), the object, now renamed Jumelles, is set to be produced in several colors, staying true to Ben Swildens' free approach to color.
