Look! X Bar's Lamps

We've blogged many times about how hotels and restaurants inspire us so when we go out, we're always looking to see what's new, inspiring or just plain unusual. Recently, we slipped into the X-Bar at the renovated Century Plaza Hotel. We'd never noticed the lamps in the booths before (we're usually heading straight for the generously sized outdoor area), but this time, we stopped on our way out to take a closer look...

Airy, light and lit from within, from afar they resemble small clouds wafting through each booth's grove of trees. Upon closer examination, they seem to be made of peanut-sized styrofoam pieces threaded onto hair-thin wire surrounding a single bulb. We've heard they're Italian and we'd be very curious to know the designer. Does anyone have any clues?

Comments (6)

Looks like styrofoam packing peanuts up close.

posted by suzy8track on August 14th 2008 at 10:33am
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Will be in the trash down the road---dark, dirty and greasy looking styrofoam! Unless they are washable?

posted by poptart on August 14th 2008 at 10:39am
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They're silkworm cocoons- what the silkworm leaves behind when it goes on to live its life.
They're collected in Thailand- and are made into lights like these I saw at The ICFF in NYC last year.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kramerdesignstudio/513983426/

posted by ManofSteel on August 14th 2008 at 12:20pm
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^Ditto - they're silk cocoons. I've seen these in person. Definitely not styrofoam.

posted by otis on August 14th 2008 at 12:45pm
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The light is pretty, but the rest of the decor seems kinda cheesy. That floor and the bamboo(fake?)-Yikes!

posted by SarahinATX on August 14th 2008 at 1:51pm
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These are available in LA at FordBrady. Click "lighting" once you enter their site. Amazing!

http://www.fordbrady.com/

posted by jessicart on August 15th 2008 at 7:22am
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