What a thing of beauty!!! I usually dislike all things wood but this is just pure gorgeousness!

Before I clicked on the post I thought well I could make one if I had a giant industrial lathe....and yep that's what it was. Love the look with it lit up in a dark room, not as much otherwise. Staining it would change that, but then you might have to make it thinner for the light to pass through the stain and that might be too thin. But this is pretty awesome. I could see making smaller table lamp shades out of a big limb or smaller diameter trunk and even making the lamp itself out of a straight limb.

Yeah, the lampshade is beautiful, but the process of getting the average chunk of wood into a lampshade shown here sure need a lot of improvement. It's 2012!!! Can't they find a better way the make the lampshade. Good design with very bad process involved here.

Very cool indeed!

Although the process might look somewhat wasteful for the product and a little hectic for those without a personal lathe and , I still think that the use of an industrial lathe in this way is pretty great and interesting. Plus, based on the few times I've used a lathe, I bet it would be very fun to make!

I bet a much simpilier/less wasteful way of making this could be as simple as gluing a wood grain print onto a shade. Or one level up: steam curling a thin piece of plywood or curling a piece of veneer? Not sure, but it definitely makes me want to try something out!

Love the look, hate the process. Seems so wasteful! Couldn't they drill out the centre with some sort of industrial hole saw first?

I saw this a while ago on another site. It's definitely cool, but the entire time I was thinking: why not just use veneer? I know, then there is a seam, no built-in edge, etc, etc, but...

The final product is stunning but I am shock at the waste. I really assumed that somehow the lampshade was created by slicing off just a thin layer of the wood.

@melissa82, that's what lathe turning IS. (And that is one honking big industrial lathe, too!)

Just think, one little slip of the tool toward the end, there, and the whole thing could have been shredded! THAT is what make expert craftsmanship worth big money! (I would hate to pay for that lampshade, no matter how cook it is!)

I agree -- use a piece of wood veneer -- unless you are in the 1% with a lodge to furnish!

I don't see a problem with "waste" there. Would you like him to have it laser cut? It's just a pine stump. There are tools to cut a bowl out of there first, but it's not a big deal. It's doubtful this will catch on in any mass scale, so don't worry. The biggest waste I see is the time spent, and I envy him for that beautiful peaceful time spent in front of that lathe.

Wow, that's a lot of work! I certainly appreciate the commitment and creativity though..

Waste as in the wood should have been burned whole in a wood stove instead? Where it releases particulates and unsequesters CO2? It would be wasteful if he does nothing useful with the shavings, but I wouldn't assume that.

I think it is beautiful and a great use for a stump. That lampshade will be around a very long time.

I'm so glad I watched that... beautiful skill, beautiful product.

Yeah, I don't get the whole "waste" thing either. Around here there are downed trees, dumped stumps and cut up trees all over. I'm constantly trying to think of ways to make use of them. I'm considering looking for a nice one, stripping the bark then waxing it. I'd have to look into it. But seriously, turning a tree of that size into planks for furniture would waste an awful lot of it yet I don't see people protesting real wood furniture. Perhaps because it's a high end "object" that most of us can't afford, but the man is an artist. How many protest painters spending weeks or months on a canvas then selling it for thousands of dollars?

I would not like to be the one who has to clean up that workshop...

It's beautiful, but it's such a waste of time and wood. The least he could have done is come up with a more interesting shape.

If he enjoys the end product then it was worth the time. And I often see these stumps ending up as firewood so so I do not agree that this is wasteful.

I am disappointed by all the negative comments here. This is a beautiful product. Pine is not suitable for burning in a chimney. It creates a fire hazard. Stumps are hauled away to landfills by the dump truck load during logging or burned on site.
I imagine I'd be friends with Mr. Berger if I lived in New Zealand. My mom saved me a great piece of black walnut from a hurricane felled tree that was being cut up yesterday.
He's very kind to show his process and I urge anyone who wants to buy something to support craftsmen/ artists whenever they can.
I sent a request to the editors to also show the work of a local artist who also makes glowing lamps but after reading the guidelines for posting it seems appropriate. This is a worldwide readership so I hope I take nothing away from Mr. Berger, but he may also be interested to know of his American counterpart who is very nice guy. http://www.glowingwoodsculptures.com/

He wasted his talent.

No I don't mean that. I just say it out of jealousy coz I can't afford to do I myself.

People! it's a piece of art... not just a waste of time/talent/material. There's plenty you can do with wood shavings. Wood Veneer, are you nuts? Have some appreciation! Some of the most beautiful things in this world are the result of time. Sometimes it's messy, easy, hard, but often, the best things take time.

Decided I should get off the soapbox and commission a lamp from my friend with my black walnut, which he tells me is too dense to glow, but can be a base.
http://www.glowingwoodsculptures.com/?
He attends shows all over the country and said he is frequently accused of "wasting" wood with his process and then he laughed a lot. He doesn't update his website.
Then he articulately extolled the uniqueness of each tree and the way his work brings the history and life of the tree to a beautiful and useful lamp, and we agreed it is is an heirloom to cherish and pass down. My daughter bought one for an anniversary.
He burns very dry pine in a hot fire (with no creosote) and heats his workshop that way.
He was a Duke scientist before over 20 years of woodwork, so I believe him.
In NY last week I saw wagon loads of pine shelves being crushed in a grinding truck, so one of you figure out how to salvage useful material like that, from store remodels. It pained me to see the waste.

Pine shavings make great bedding for some kinds of pets - and can later be composted.

The negative comments are from people that just don't understand woodcraft, using a lathe, or the process of creating art in the first place. If you watch the whole video there's a disclaimer at the end about the wood and what is done with the shavings. After watching this craftsman, I think it's a waste for my neighbor to use his stump as an outdoor stool and not a lamp shade!

this is what is wrong with modern design. you say "use veneer". "its wasteful". etc...as a carpenter i am offended at the negative comments left. this is a skill which has taken this craftsmen years to hone. it has taken money. it has taken time. it has taken very close calls with chisels. it has taken lots of things to get to where he is. shame on everyone that says use veneer. yes he did shed a lot of shavings, but that can be broken down to make wood filler. that can be broken down to use in alot of projects. he is saving that stump from a fire place and making a beautiful piece of work. it takes no effort to type comments like the ones i have seen here. as far as veneer goes, there is a lot of process used in making that. you have to burn oil to use machinery to cut your veneer. you have to truck it to your nearest home depot big box store. this is far more environmentally friendly then using veneer. as a woodworker, i hate veneer. i love pure wood. the smells that you get from wood beats any veneer and no veneer can replicate what he has done. may you forever be banished to ikea and big box stores for your furniture because you definately dont appreciate craftsmanship.