Materials: LEDs, Copper, Circuit Boards
Price Point: $6,000
"The Constellation chandelier blooms with excitement. Like a bouquet of many tiny flowers, its lights settle across space like a star shower. Think of Queen Anneʼs Lace, think of fireworks, think of a field of wild flowers..."
"The Constellation is familiar, everyone has their own story, their own relationship to the corona. It inspires dreams of the future, and fond memories of the past.
The Constellation also represents the first wave of decorative LED lighting for the home and retail environment. Traditionally, LED lighting has had a lot of success in safety devices, industrial uses, and consumer electronics. Todayʼs white LEDs are now able to emit light that is powerful enough for task lighting."
Designer: Kenzan Tsutakawa-Chinn
Link: studio1thousand.com
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Previous Design:
Brix Console by Julie Morringello
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• About Design Showcase 2009: This summer we're celebrating the best in design for the home. We're taking submissions from independent and student designers from around the world and letting our readers vote on who they think has the best design. There's also a panel of august judges. Two winners will win $20,000 in targeted advertising placements on our sites to help launch their career. All info is here.






White Enamel Flatwa...
Is that chandelier really worth $6,000 or am I reading this wrong?
Very reminiscent of the Droog 85 Lamps Chandelier by Rody Graumans, but lighter (pardon the pun).
Agreed. Though it's a lovely piece, that price is ludicrous if it's not a typo.
Looks like a fiber optic sculpture from the '80's turned upside down. Does it change colors too? Maybe that would make it worth 6K.
i would NEVER EVER pay that much money for something like that...
but i want it, soooo badly....it is SO beautiful!!!!! *devising how to make one myself*
what is that second picture...some messed up stereotype?
i hope they mean $60 (sixty dollars and no cents)! it's cool, but i can't think of a single peice of home decor that i could justify spending $6,000 on.
it looks like a broom.
I think one could make this for $20.
Why are we even bothering with prices on these things? It only leads to arguments.
I like the concept. I wish the top part looked a bit more...uh...designed. I don't think it's complimenting the led part. The handle is making it look feather-duster'ish and I'm sure that's Not what he's going for.
totally over priced...would never pay $6000, but design wise looks good, kind of a generic idea
$6,000? If it is meant to look like a fiber optic light, then it should be. But I understand this to just be LEDs on the end of a copper wire.
It is beautiful, but seems to be a simple DIY to me.
"Very reminiscent of the Droog 85 Lamps Chandelier by Rody Graumans, but lighter (pardon the pun)."
I agree - Tho it immediately reminded me of the fiber-optic table lamps from the 70's - the ones that changed color and looked like Tina Turner hair....
http://www.amazon.com/LED-Fiber-Optic-Centerpiece-Lamp/dp/B001QWWTPU/ref=pd_sim_t_5
Nothing new here - and certainly not worth anywhere near $6K.
Eh ... interesting concept but still kinda blah. I guess I like my chandeliers big and flashy and pretty.
Arik Levy does a more interesting version of this:
http://www.dezeen.com/2008/05/07/absent-nature-by-arik-levy/
While lovely, the $6,000 price tag is absolutely ridiculous. Especially given that versions of this kind of fixture have already been done...and that the pictures make it look like this was done by a college kid in a basement apartment.
Sorry...
I would have given it 3 stars had it not cost 6-months worth of my rent.
and another, this one quite compelling:
http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/tom_feredays_solutions_lighting_furniture_alternative_energy_and_more_14489.asp
I don't understand all of these things from the design showcase! Even I could make something cool and awesome for that much. Please please PLEASE show us creations that we can actually afford!!!
$6,000 for a chandelier? Quilts for $600?? Why doesn't someone design something real peopel can afford!?!?
"...Think of Queen Anneʼs Lace, think of fireworks, think of a field of wild flowers..."
think of the credit card bill!
It's a thing of beauty ... and had better be a joy forever.
whoa, this is just like the Droog lamps. not very original.
I agree with the other commenters, it's gorgeous, but the price is completely ridiculous. Is it possibly due to all of the copper used in the construction? I know that the cost of copper has gone up to the point where people will go to construction sites and rip out the copper wiring to sell on the black market, so I suppose it's possible...
Anyhow, surely someone over at Instructibles could create a guide on how to construct this? I imagine you could get even fancier, by getting a bunch of tiny, blown-glass spheres to go around each LED.
The second picture needs to be deleted and the designer never should have posted it online. Unfortunately, it greatly cheapens the elegant design, and if that price tag is not a typo, he will want to think more about how he markets it, or in the very least, what imagery he allows to make it to teh interwebs. Once out there, it can never truly be deleted!
Bad knock-off
I think everyone is forgetting that many of the items exhibited by younger designers at these sort of fairs are created by hand in a very small production run. If we want a $60 price tag we would need to get a mass produced item made on large scale most likely in China.
Very true....if you want craftsmanship, you have to pay for it.
This is not a knock-off...it's hand-made, carefully thought out and, whatever else might be said...pretty original and lovely. New and original work doesn't come cheap, when made and bought in twos and threes and by the dozens, not the thousands.
The real question is what we really expect: design and love or cheap prices and low quality.
Don't get me wrong...i can't afford it either. And I don't have 100 man-hours to make it myself. So paying someone $60 an hour to make something beautiful that will last for decades is not insane.
I can disregard the price tag, but the design itself is underwhelming. It looks like noting more than a throw-together of the materials involved. Design, of course, requires making ordinary materials appear in extraordinary shapes with even more superior functions.
The simplicity of this design is deceiving. Certainly not DIY. And the beauty is in the simplicity and the handmade imperfections.
I can imagine this as part of a constellation of Constellation Chandeliers as easily as a single lamp--elegant and adaptable. As for the price tag, my guess is that this is still at a prototype stage and something approaching a mass(er) market production version might be feasible for less $$$? Nice work.
I don't think it's a knock-off any more than a Droog lamp is a knockoff of that 80's fiber optic kitsch lamp. It has a distinct look that is considerably different that droog (or arik levy/tom fereday for that matter). Similarity is form/function does not necessarily imply a knock-off.
I love the simplicity of the materials and the wrapped "handle" and how those details relate to/reinforce the overall form. It gives a sense of perspective and warmth.
I love that a couple of the lights escape the plane of the mass of LEDs to create a sense of naturally occurring imperfection (like a firework, or a flower head).
It's a beautiful execution. Sure there are a couple of areas that could use tweaking to make it a market ready product (the price being one), but I still think it's well worth three stars.
I like this idea, although I have seen similar light fixtures before. What continues to bother me is that the top resembles a carrot. I think it could have been better resolved.
KNOCK OFF. be original.
Certainly lots less than the stated price! Thus i refused to vote for this daylight robbery (no matter how much I like it personally).