Dezeen Magazine

Lamps by John Procario

These sculptural timber lamps by American designer John Procario have been bent to the point of breaking.

Lamp by John Procario

John Procario creates the body of the lamps by joining two strips of ash or white oak, without using moulds that constrain the outcome of the shape. This process allows the wood to take its form naturally and means that no two will be the same.

"The idea for the lamps began by thinking of wood as a metaphor for the body," the designer told Dezeen. "Wood will bend comfortably to a point, then break; just like a bone or muscle, wood has its limit."

Lamp by John Procario

Using steam bending, a method where thin strips of wood are put into a steam box so that their fibres become relaxed and pliable, Procario manipulates and laminates the strips together to form a rigid object.

"I use ash wood or white oak because the fibres in these woods have really strong natural glue bonds, which make them very flexible," said Procario.

Lamp by John Procario

Light comes from a flexible LED strip inlayed into the form and attached with an adhesive. Plexiglass has been moulded over the LED strip to diffuse some of the light's intensity.

We've featured a number of lamps recently, including suspended lamps by Ronan and Erwan Bourollec and a glass pendant lamp with a tiny chandelier insideSee more lamp design »