#eric therner

Could you briefly introduce your Diamond Light? Diamond Lights was an idea I got when a friend was practicing sketch-techniques, his choice of object to portrait was a classic light bulb, probably one of the best-known shapes to mankind. My friends’ light bulb however, didn´t quite look as perfectly rounded as the original. Seeing that rough sketch in front of me led me to look at the light bulb in a new way.

I already knew in my heart and soul that the classic light-bub was a very important product for people in general. It´s a silent product, people see it everyday. It has been such a common product in people’s lives for over 100 years, mainly because of its ingenious function that makes it possible to get light, by the flick of a switch.

So one could believe that it would have been altered a million times over the years, but it hasn´t. There has been other shapes, longer bigger smaller etc, but they have all been made to fit inside a lamp and never thought to be a stand-alone product, never a different shape that is meant to be seen in that shape alone.

What would it mean if I changed it, I thought. Would people even notice it since they don´t notice the standard original one that much. A lot of headaches later and thanks to light bulbs being more and more visible as a stand-alone piece in people’s interiors, I thought it´s now or never. At first, I thought of, perhaps, just a cube or some other basic shapes but it didn´t give any real depth to the idea. Instead, the diamond is an intriguing shape, very well known to man and with tons of values related to it.

Photo © Frama Collection

What message would you like to convey through your product and does diamonds carry any special meaning to you? My version of the light bulb is meant to show what the original has really meant to people for all those years.

Photo © Eric Therner by Jesper Lindström

Does diamonds carry any special meaning to you? A diamond in itself a perfect symbol for something valuable. So in my design the diamond shape is incorporated in a way that makes it look as if the light bulb has been an unpolished diamond which now has been uncovered after all those years. A very symbolic idea for a product that is already used to symbolize other good ideas. It´s kind of a tribute but also is an individual product. If there had been another designers who had tried his/her luck with the light bulb before me, then I would never had have done this.

Photo © Eric Therner by Jesper Lindström

Where, in your house, would you use Diamond Lights? Well I have it in a window on a short table lamp. A nice effect from the diamonds shape is the many facets, which makes the light spread a lot differently than from a standard light bulb. This makes it fun and interesting to see what happens when you move it around.

I actually get irritated when some people say they love Diamond Lights, "because it looks really nice", the look of diamond lights is nothing, it is the idea and the reasons of why it is a diamond that are important and interesting. :)

Desktop photo by Eric Therner

Official website of Eric Therner:

erictherner.com

All Photos © Eric Therner

Feature Photos © Frama Collection