Shadow Bulb by Melissa Borrell

A bare bulb can connote frugality, simplicity and bareness — a utilitarian object, common and disposable. But Melissa Borrell's design embellishes the bare bulb to show off its better qualities — it is, after all, a sphere of glass illuminated from the inside; kind of magical really.

The bulbs come in four designs: circles, triangles, criss-cross and spiral. We'd hope the bulbs are energy efficient, and we know the glass is hand-etched. Besides that, there are precious few details to inform the hefty price tag.

$75 here.

Comments (7)

Can we all do this on our own? I wonder if it would hurt the integrity of the bulb, or the artist?

Looks like an incandescent to me...
...and a $75 lightbulb seems kinda wasteful.

I'm sure there's a lower cost way to make DIY versions of these bulbs. I seem to remember seeing some kind of "glass frosting" solution in a craft store once, and a Google search turns up a number of methodologies online too. Now having an artistic eye like Melissa's? That might be harder to come by.

They remind me of Christmas tree ornaments. Perhaps use one of those with a small bulb inside?

I wonder if you got a clear bulb and etch a fixture if it would work as well....

You could absolutely do this yourself. There are glass etching supplies at any craft store and as long as you follow the directions carefully regarding the length of time you leave the etching cream on there, it shouldn't affect the integrity of the glass.

I might try this on some kind of glass globe bulb shade instead of directly on the bulb, so that all my hard work isn't for naught when the bulb dies!